Beneath The Surface : A Reading Twilight Novel
by Don't Look Now
Summary: Yet another Reading Twilight story, but mine has Charlie and Renee reading the books, while Bella is going through her zombie period. Beware the angst, people, these are parents after all. Canon and so on. And others might join later on. Enjoy :D
1. Preface

**Authors Note: **I know that this has been done, just about a million times before, so I won't expect tons of reviews or readers. My take however, is something I haven't seen done before. The setting is about two months after Bella's fateful birthday, and the readers are Charlie and Renee. So far...

Let's pretend for a moment, that the visit from Renee in New Moon happened in November, instead of the few weeks after Bella's birthday that it did in the book. It helps my story more.

Unlike most Reading stories, this will have some angst, due to who is doing the reading. Just a warning.

* * *

Preface

* * *

He couldn't help but think of how long a day it had been, when he stepped over the threshold to his home. He sighed deeply, silently wishing he was back at the station. Dealing with his daughter, when he was so tired, didn't sit well with him. He wanted to be able to be there for her, without being dead on his feet.

Thankfully, it seemed that she had already turned in, when he checked the downstairs area. He hung up his thick, heavy coat and put his hat on the small table in the front hall, before turning for the upper level himself. He knew he would be asleep, before he barely had time to lie down.

Of course, it didn't help that he woke up every night as well, like clockwork.

Sleep wasn't something he was used to getting anymore. Not since that dreadful day in September, almost two months ago. He quickly pushed that thought away, he didn't like thinking about it. In all his years on the force, he could honestly say that he had never been as scared, as he was that day.

The relief had yet to come.

He turned on the light as he stepped into his bedroom, staring longingly at the small bed. After a quick trip to the bathroom and a look in on his resting daughter, he undressed and lay down under the soft covers. His eyes closed of their own accord, but before he could relax enough to let sleep take him, a shrill tone forced him to shoot up in confusion.

It took him a few seconds to realize that it was the phone ringing, downstairs in the kitchen.

The only phone in the house, he thought while grumbling.

Knowing it would be a cold experience, he hurriedly pulled on a pair of sweats and ran down the stairs, reaching the phone on its seventh ring. Obviously the person on the other line was anxious to get a hold of either him or his daughter, having not given up yet.

He had a feeling that he knew exactly who it was.

As he grabbed the incessantly ringing object, his eyes noted the clock on the microwave. _00:13_. Why was she calling at such an hour?

"Hello," he let out, gruffly.

"Charlie, it's Renee. I'm sorry if it's late, but I think it's important." His ex-wife responded, sounding slightly hysterical. He rolled his eyes and silently wondered where her husband was and why he hadn't put a stop to this very late call.

"Calm down, Renee. Now, tell me what's so important that it couldn't wait until a more reasonable hour?" He asked, irritated and frankly, very tired. He lost patience when he was sleepy.

"Okay, well, you see, a few hours ago when I came home, well, I just flew in from another one of Phil's games and..."

"Renee, the point?" He said, slightly guilty for being so rough with her, but eager to get to it, so he could go back to bed.

"Oh, right, sorry. Well, there was a package waiting for me on the doorstep. I hadn't ordered anything, and there was no return address, so it took me a while to open it. Anyway, it was four books, some type of novel or something. It seemed harmless, but..." Her voice had turned extremely worried now, which in turn woke Charlie up more.

Although it didn't take much to worry someone like Renee, he could hear the difference in her voice.

She was scared.

"What it is, Renee? Just tell me, I'm sure it can't be that bad." He said, wondering what had her so fearful of a few books.

"I think the books are about Bella, Charlie." She whispered, utter fear in her voice.

"What? Oh, don't be ridiculous, Renee." He was now completely convinced that she was pulling his leg.

"I'm serious, Charlie." She snapped, grabbing his attention once more. "Listen to this; _When seventeen-year-old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in Forks, Washington, she meets an exquisitely handsome boy at school for whom she feels an overwhelming attraction and who she comes to realize is not wholly human_."

Charlie was speechless. He knew it couldn't be a joke for two reasons. The first being that Renee was not as cruel as to pull something like that and she certainly wouldn't use his love for his daughter either. The second was the way this summary of sorts was written. While Renee was a very smart woman, these weren't words she would use.

And what the hell did it mean, not wholly human?

He was officially too frightened to speak.

"Charlie? Are you still there?" The almost shouting voice came from the other end of the line.

"Yeah, I'm here," he finally choked out, blindly reaching for one of the kitchen chairs, which he then proceeded to fall into.

Renee sighed. "I'm scared, Charlie. I've already spoken with Phil, though something stopped me from telling him about the books, and I'm flying down tonight. Phil just thinks that I want to spend some time with Bella. Anyway, my plane leaves in two hours and I'm already packed. I just wanted to warn you. I think we need to read these books, Charlie."

She said, gravely, and Charlie could do nothing but nod, despite the impossibility of his ex-wife seeing the gesture.

After curt goodbyes and a promise to pick her up the next day around seven o'clock, they finally hung up and, dazed, Charlie made his way back upstairs and into his bed.

He didn't sleep a wink.

After the first time he heard his daughter's terrified screams, he stayed in her room, until it seemed that she was waking up. Not wanting her to know, and feel guilty, that he stayed by her side all night, he silently slipped out of her room just before her alarm went off. He was already dressed and so he walked down into the kitchen, waiting for her to join him.

He knew there was no use in telling her that her mother was coming, she would still be surprised when she saw her. Bella hardly listened to anything he said these days. In fact, she hardly listened to anything, anyone said anymore.

At least her grades weren't suffering.

Breakfast was quiet, and just as he had expected, Bella didn't seem to notice the redness of his eyes or how he seemed to have to force himself to stay awake. As she left for school, he wondered if he shouldn't get Renee to take a cab. He might very well end up in an accident this way.

As the clock told him that it was time to go, he decided to take the chance and simply have Renee drive them back. He grabbed his keys and coat, and stepped outside, where the snow was laying heavily on the usually green ground. It crunched under his boots, as he made his way to the cruiser.

An hour later found him standing in the same spot as he had almost a year ago. This time his emotions were different though. Instead of being happy to have his daughter back, he was worried, anxious and so many more negative emotions. He had no idea what this visit would bring, but he couldn't imagine that it would be anything good.

His mind kept coming back to the 'not wholly human' comment.

He _knew_ there was something off with that boy.

"Charlie?" A voice brought him out of his musings and he looked up to see Renee heading his way, a suitcase in one hand and her carry-on in the other.

She looked as tired as he felt, and he suddenly remembered that she had only just come back from a flight, before she left again. Maybe it would do them both some good, to get some sleep before they started reading these books. Even if the curiosity alone would probably kill him.

They said their awkward hello's and Renee agreed to take over the wheel. She exclaimed that she was far too anxious to get any sleep, so Charlie decided to slumber in the one hour drive back to Forks and just hoped that it would be enough.

At the calming humming of his ex-wife, he slowly relaxed into the passenger seat and allowed his stressed out body to fall into a somewhat deep sleep. Before he knew it, he was out like a light and Renee gave him a quick, sad look.

She had seen the shadows under his eyes and knew who was responsible.

Maybe these books could help her to help her daughter.

With new hope in her heart, she drove the slightly familiar road to her old home, keeping the radio to a low volume. It seemed no time passed, before she was parking in the overgrown lawn, looking at the house that seemed to be falling apart right in front of her eyes.

This was the first time she was back, since leaving all those years ago.

She took the key out of the ignition and turned to the sleeping man at her side. She felt horrible about what she had to do, he obviously needed his rest, but there was nothing else to do. She gently shook his shoulder, remembering how light a sleeper he had always been.

Sure enough, he coughed slightly, before blinking his eyes open. It took a few seconds for him to realize where he was and why Renee was sitting in the drivers seat of his cruiser, but as soon as it all came back to him, he sat up straight and rubbed his eyes. He noted the anxious look in his ex-wife's eyes and, without saying anything, smiled slightly and opened the door.

Together they stepped into the house and put her luggage just inside the living room. Renee unzipped the large suitcase and pulled out four books, laying them softly on the small table in front of the tattered couch. She tried to ignore how little the interior had changed since she left, and sat down, waiting for Charlie to join her.

When he did, he grabbed the book on top of the pile. The title glared out at him, _Twilight_, and he suddenly became wary of what was to come. How much would these books change their lives and, more importantly, how much had the events changed Bella's?

"I think we should just jump right in." He looked at Renee, as she spoke, and realized that she was right.

Rip the band-aid off.

"Alright, why don't I go first and then we can take turns reading out loud. It won't make it go faster, but I think it's the best way." He left out the part about it being more comforting, to have someone to share this with. Besides, he wasn't sure how he would handle actually reading it, with silence surrounding him.

No, this would be much easier.

He hoped.

Renee simply nodded, her fists clutched tightly to her jean-covered knees, as she waited for him to begin. He flipped the book open, passed the chapter index and stopped at what appeared to be a quote from the Bible.

"**But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.**" He stopped for a moment, confused, until Renee gestured for him to move on.

"Okay, the first page here says **Preface**. I'll just jump right in," his voice shook but he ignored it, pushing forward.

**I'd never given much thought to how I would die -**

Renee kept quiet but let a small gasp escape, wondering what reason her daughter would have to think such things. She was brought back to that horrible time, six months ago, when her baby had been in the ER. Could that be what she meant? But that had been an accident... right?

**though I'd had reason enough in the last few months – but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.**

**I stared without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the hunter, and he looked pleasantly back at me.**

"A hunter?" Charlie said, his voice shaking even worse now. "What is she talking about?"

**Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved.**

Charlie's thoughts flickered to the boy that had caused such happiness and sorrow in his daughter. Was she talking about him? Renee wasn't really surprised, she had always known how selfless and caring Bella was. The worry was still there, though, and she had a feeling it wouldn't be going away anytime soon.

**Noble, even. That ought to count for something.**

"Yes, I suppose it does," Charlie commented, but didn't look at Renee for her reaction. Bella was proving to be as sweet as he had always suspected, not like those kids that had two different faces for their friends and parents.

**I knew that if I'd never gone to Forks, I wouldn't be facing death now.**

"Oh, no," Renee gasped, thinking about how little she had fought against her daughter's insistence back then. "I hope that's not true," but Charlie had a feeling it was, thinking about the day of Tyler's van and, of course, the hospital trip in Phoenix.

**But, terrified as I was, I couldn't bring myself to regret the decision. When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end.**

Charlie shook his head, at the thoughts of his daughter. While not surprised, he did find it amazing how her mind worked. It was so typical and it gave him some insight into the pain she was going through at the moment. She obviously loved that boy more than he had given her credit for.

**The hunter smiled in a friendly way as he sauntered forward to kill me.**

A shiver ran down Renee's spine, at that particular phrase. It was such a wrong picture. Why was this hunter smiling? What kind of psychopath took joy in taking the life of an innocent girl. She had no idea if this had happened yet or if it was coming, but she did know that as soon as Bella came home she was giving her a big hug.

Even if it was more for Renee's sake than Bella's.

"Well, that was the **Preface**," Charlie stated, closing the book and putting it back down on the table. "I think I should make some coffee."

* * *

**Authors Note: **Well, how did I do? Personally, my favorite _Reading..._ stories are the ones Choices wrote, but the whole 'Cullens reading' thing has been done to death. Besides, this came about due to an idea for what happens _after_ they're done reading all the books.

Btw, just in case you're wondering, Bella will join them in _New Moon_ :)

Any questions? Comments? No? Huh...

Remember to review, people! xD


	2. First Sight

**Authors Note: **Now things are really getting started. I'm looking forward to Charlie's reaction to the Cullen kids, since I'm sure Bella got her perceptive nature from him. Though it could also be fun to see what Renee makes of her daughter's ideas of the strange children.

* * *

First Sight

* * *

Five minutes later, Charlie and Renee returned to their seats on the couch, each with a cup of boiling hot coffee in their hands. The caffeine would not only help to keep them awake and focused, but also sooth their frayed nerves. Or so they hoped.

Charlie picked up the book, yet again, as they had agreed on him continuing, and Renee would take the next one. He flipped the pages open to the first chapter, entitled _First Sight_. Intuition told him that it meant the Cullen children and the first time she noticed the boy she would end up loving so much.

**My mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down. It was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue.**

Renee sighed, and yet smiled, at the same time. She remembered this conversation well and wasn't looking forward to going through it again. It was hard enough the first time, but now, knowing that allowing her daughter to go to Forks may have been signing her death sentence, it was even worse.

**I was wearing my favorite shirt – sleeveless, white eyelet lace; I was wearing it as a farewell gesture. My carry-on item was a parka.**

**In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds.**

**It rains on this inconsequential town more than any other place in the United States of America. It was from this town and its gloomy, omnipresent shade that my mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old.**

Renee tried to ignore the way Charlie winced at the word 'escaped'. But there was nothing she could say, that wouldn't be a lie. She had truly hated living here, though it hadn't had anything to do with Charlie himself. She really had loved him.

**It was in this town that I'd been compelled to spend a month every summer until I was fourteen. That was the year I finally put my foot down; these past three summers, my dad, Charlie, vacationed with me in California instead.**

"Did that really hurt, Charlie?" Renee asked, curious of his reply. She knew he loved this town.

He sighed. "At first, I guess. But, only because I was worried that I was the reason. After the first summer in California, I relaxed a bit." He said, having decided to be honest from now on.

She smiled, knowing like no one else, that there was more to this quiet man than he let people see. Even more than she herself knew of, she was sure. And no one was more important to him, than their daughter.

**It was to Forks that I now exiled myself – an action that I took with great horror. I detested Forks.**

Renee smiled, this was one of the few things that her daughter and her had in common. Usually she took after Charlie, but her distaste for this dreary small town was most likely a result of years of Renee's complaints.

Charlie simply sighed. He had always know, of course, that Bella felt this way, but somehow it was worse when it came from her innermost personal thoughts. Hopefully her opinion had changed, as she lived here for a while.

**I loved Phoenix. I loved the sun and the blistering heat. I loved the vigorous, sprawling city.**

"**Bella," my mom said to me – the last of a thousand times – before I got on the plane. "You don't have to do this."**

**My mom looks like me, except with short hair and laugh lines. I felt a spasm of panic as I stared at her wide, childlike eyes. How could I leave my loving, erratic, harebrained mother to fend for herself?**

"Is that how she thinks of me?" Renee frowned and Charlie was smart enough to not make a single comment.

Obviously Renee didn't truly know what her relationship with her daughter looked like to an outside observer. Or why Bella was as mature as she was. No one was born like that, your surroundings created it.

**Of course she had Phil now, so the bills would probably get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car, and someone to call when she got lost, but still...**

Renee sat up straight, letting the words roll around in her head. When it was put that way, she realized suddenly how much she had unconsciously leaned on her young daughter, all these years. She realized that she hadn't payed a single bill since Bella was a toddler, had her daughter on the first speed dial on her phone and that grocery shopping wasn't something she was used to.

It hit her so suddenly, that she had to take a deep breath. Charlie had noticed and stopped reading, waiting for her to pull herself together. This wasn't easy for her to accept and she worried about how Bella must feel, even though the book let her know that she didn't blame Renee for anything.

But wasn't that just because of her forgiving nature?

She decided that there was nothing she could about this right now and gestured for Charlie to continue, as her heart beat fast in her chest and her thoughts were running a mile a minute.

She was going to have a long talk with Bella, soon.

"**I want to go," I lied. I'd always been a bad liar, but I'd been saying this lie so frequently lately that it sounded almost convincing now.**

Renee wasn't through with her shock just yet, it seemed. How could she not have seen through the act? Bella was supposed to be her best friend and she had been so wrapped up in her new husband, that she hadn't even seen the truth. She had let her daughter be miserable, just so she could travel with Phil.

She was beginning to see how imperfect she was as a mother.

For the first time, she wondered how different things would've been, if she had left Bella with her father, all those years ago.

"**Tell Charlie I said hi."**

"**I will."**

"**I'll see you soon," she insisted. "You can come home whenever you want – I'll come right back as soon as you need me."**

**But I could see the sacrifice in her eyes behind the promise.**

"She saw that?" Renee gasped, wondering why her daughter didn't hate her. How could one person be so selfless, even when faced with such selfish people. She silently yelled at herself, promising to do better from now on.

She knew she wasn't like other mothers, of course. She was younger, for one thing, but also very persistent when it came to excitement in her life. She had been so busy looking for new things every other month, that she had never noticed how homey her daughter was. More like Charlie in that sense, too.

Maybe Bella's dislike for Forks truly was based on Renee's own thoughts. Perhaps she would've loved growing up in a small town like this.

But there was nothing she could do about that now, so she gestured for Charlie to continue.

"**Don't worry about me," I urged. "It'll be great. I love you, Mom."**

**She hugged me tightly for a minute, and then I got on the plane, and she was gone.**

**It's a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive back down to Forks. Flying doesn't bother me; the hour in the car with Charlie, though, I was a little worried about.**

"Humph," the man in question said, shaking his head and pushing down his sadness at his daughter's statement.

"You know she doesn't mean it like that, Charlie," Renee said kindly, laying a hand on his own. "You two are just so alike that it can get a bit awkward, you both being so shy." She emphasized, hoping he wouldn't be too hurt by whatever thoughts Bella might have in the future.

He didn't answer her, but seemed to find his voice and kept reading.

**Charlie had really been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased that I was coming to live with him for the first time with any degree of permanence.**

"Well, of course, silly," he smiled, knowing that it was only his own fault that this surprised her. He wasn't too comfortable showing his emotions to others.

**He'd already gotten me registered for high school and was going to help me get a car.**

**But it was sure to be awkward with Charlie. Neither of us was what anyone would call verbose, and I didn't know what there was to say regardless. I knew he was more than a little confused by my decision – like my mother before me, I hadn't made a secret of my distaste for Forks.**

"I never realized how horrible that sounds. She knows how much you love this town, I shouldn't have let her be so obvious." Renee sighed, knowing that it was as much her fault as anything, that Bella had been so honest with her father.

"It's okay, Renee, I don't blame either of you. Some people just aren't meant to live in small towns, just like I could never see myself in a big city." He placated her.

"Well, she still shouldn't be so vocal about it," she grumbled, but let it go. For now.

She was definitely going to have a talk with her daughter.

**When I landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. I didn't see it as an omen – just unavoidable. I'd already said my goodbyes to the sun.**

"Y'know, that may have a lot to do with it. Maybe if the small town hadn't been in such a rainy state, she wouldn't have felt that way. Being used to the sun must be difficult to deal with, living here suddenly."

Though he didn't say anything, Renee felt that this had helped ease some of Charlie's worries. She mentally smiled a smug smile, happy to have had this epiphany to share with him. He really was more handsome when he smiled.

**Charlie was waiting for me with the cruiser.**

**This I was expecting, too. Charlie is Police Chief Swan to the good people of Forks. My primary motivation behind buying a car, despite the scarcity of my funds, was that I refused to be driven around town in a car with red and blue lights on top. Nothing slows down traffic like a cop.**

"That is true," Renee teased, amused by the slight blush on her ex-husband's cheeks.

"Well, nothing I can do about that, now is there," he mumbled, knowing it was typical for teenagers to cringe at the sight of his cruiser, even if they hadn't done anything to warrant a visit from him.

**Charlie gave me an awkward, one-armed hug when I stumbled my way off the plane.**

Both parents simply rolled their eyes in response. Neither had any idea just where she had gotten her clumsy nature from. Charlie may have two left feet when it came to dancing, but that's where the familiar trait ended. It had to be some ancient relative, only worthy explanation, really.

"**It's good to see you, Bells," he said, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied me.**

"Well, you have had training and experience," Renee laughed, remembering all the times she had done the same for her daughter, and the number of visits to the ER, where everyone knew her and Bella by their first names, on sight.

"**You haven't changed much. How's Renee?"**

"**Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad." I wasn't allowed to call him Charlie to his face.**

"Did you tell her that?" Charlie looked at his ex-wife, an eyebrow raised.

She shrugged. "I figured you wouldn't like it, but knew you'd never say anything. Why, don't you mind?"

Now it was his turn to shrug. "Not really. I mean, it just makes it that much more special, when she, on rare occasion, calls me dad." He said, trying to make it out to be a lesser deal than what it clearly was.

"Huh," Renee replied, realizing that her earlier statement was true. There was so much more to Charlie Swan than anyone knew.

**I had only a few bags. Most of my Arizona clothes were too permeable for Washington. My mom and I had pooled our resources to supplement my winder wardrobe, but it was still scanty. It all fit easily into the trunk of the cruiser.**

"**I found a good car for you, really cheap," he announced when we were strapped in.**

"Oh, no," he said, rolling his eyes. Renee just hid a smile behind her hand. She had seen Bella's car and, while it was definitely fitting of her daughter, she had a feeling that that particular conversation hadn't gone too well. Charlie's reaction only cemented that fact.

"**What kind of car?" I was suspicious of the way he said 'good car for you' as opposed to just 'good car'.**

"I should've known she'd catch that," he mumbled, fully aware of how perceptive his little girl was.

"**Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy."**

"**Where did you find it?"**

"**Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?" La Push is the tiny reservation on the coast.**

"**No."**

"**He used to go fishing with us during the summer," Charlie prompted.**

**That would explain why I didn't remember him. I do a good job of blocking painful, unnecessary things from my memory.**

Charlie grimaced at that. He didn't like knowing that what little times he had spent with his daughter, had disappeared from her mind. Although it would explain how at odds they were with each other, if she had purposely forgotten all the moments they had spent together in the past.

"**He's in a wheelchair now," Charlie continued when I didn't respond, "so he can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap."**

"**What year is it?" I could see from his change of expression that this was the question he was hoping I wouldn't ask.**

"**Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine – it's only a few years old, really."**

"You can't honestly think that that will appease her," Renee teased, her smile only growing when she saw his wince.

**I hoped he didn't think so little of me as to believe I would give up that easily.**

Renee's grin was smug, as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"**When did he buy it?"**

"**He bought it in 1984, I think."**

"**Did he buy it new?"**

"**Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties – or late fifties at the earliest," he admitted sheepishly.**

"**Ch-Dad, I don't really know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if anything went wrong, and I couldn't afford a mechanic..."**

"No, she certainly couldn't," Charlie frowned, thinking of the only mechanic in town, who charged far too much than should be entirely legal.

"**Really, Bella, the thing runs great. They don't build them like that anymore."**

**The thing, I thought to myself... it had possibilities – as a nickname, at the very least.**

Charlie laughed at that, he never realized how sarcastic his daughter could be. He couldn't help but wonder if reading this wouldn't be even more interesting than he had originally imagined.

"**How cheap is cheap?" After all, that was the part I couldn't compromise on.**

"**Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift." Charlie peeked sideways at me with a hopeful expression.**

**Wow. Free.**

"That really was very sweet of you, Charlie," Renee commented, not at all surprised by the blush that formed at her words.

"Well, I figured I might as well make her as comfortable as possible. I knew she wasn't too happy about coming here. Besides, she needed to save her money for college." He replied, looking at the pages while he spoke.

"**You didn't need to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car."**

"**I don't mind. I want you to be happy here." He was looking ahead at the road when he said this. Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud. I inherited that from him. So I was looking straight ahead as I responded.**

Renee shook her head in amusement. They truly were a strange pair, those two, she thought with a smile.

"**That's really nice, Dad. Thanks. I really appreciate it." No need to add that my being happy in Forks is an impossibility. He didn't need to suffer along with me.**

Both Renee and Charlie stayed silent. They had already had this conversation and besides, they knew she had changed her mind after meeting Edward, so everything turned out fine.

They both ignored how not fine Bella was at the moment.

**And I never looked a free truck in the mouth – or engine.**

"**Well, now, you're welcome," he mumbled, embarrassed by my thanks.**

**We exchanged a few more comments on the weather, which was wet, and that was pretty much it for conversation. We stared out the windows in silence.**

**It was beautiful, of course; I couldn't deny that. Everything was green: the trees, their trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air filtered down greenly through the leaves.**

**It was too green – an alien planet.**

"I suppose, coming from a dry place like Phoenix, it does seem a bit odd with so much vibrant color," Renee mused, looking out the window, even though the place was white from snow at the moment.

**Eventually we made it to Charlie's. He still lived in the small, two-bedroom house that he'd bought with my mother in the early days of their marriage. Those were the only kind of days their marriage had – the early ones.**

Charlie shifted a bit in his seat and Renee looked anywhere but at the man beside her. No one commented, the situation was much too uncomfortable already. No need to add to it.

**There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was my new – well, new to me – truck. It was a faded red color, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab.**

**To my intense surprise, I loved it.**

"That was nice, to give her something she so obviously loved," Charlie smiled. He had never doubted her words that day, Bella had always been a horrible liar.

**I didn't know if it would run, but I could see myself in it. Plus, it was one of those solid iron affairs that never gets damaged – the kind you see at the scene of an accident, paint unscratched, surrounded by the pieces of the foreign car it had destroyed.**

"**Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!" Now my horrific day tomorrow would be just that much less dreadful. I wouldn't be faced with the choice of either walking two miles in the rain to school or accepting a ride in the Chief's cruiser.**

"**I'm glad you like it," Charlie said gruffly, embarrassed again.**

Renee kept silent, as she noted the blush spreading on her ex-husband's cheeks in reality too. She would never understand how someone could be so shy, even after having lived with Bella for seventeen years, and Charlie for a good three.

**It took only one trip to get all my stuff upstairs. I got the west bedroom that faced out over the front yard. The room was familiar; it had belonged to me since I was born.**

**The wooden floor, the light blue walls, the peaked ceiling, the yellowed lace curtains around the window – these were all a part of my childhood. The only changes Charlie had ever made were switching the crib for a bed and adding a desk as I grew. The desk now held a secondhand computer, with the phone line for the modem stapled along the floor to the nearest phone jack. This was a stipulation from my mother, so that we could stay in touch easily. The rocking chair from my baby days was still in the corner.**

Renee thought back, fondly, to nights of sitting in that chair, a wrapped-up infant Bella in her arms. She remembered how Charlie had often stood in the doorway, simply watching his two girls together. Those were good times, moments when she would forget how much she hated living there.

**There was only one small bathroom at the top of the stairs, which I would have to share with Charlie. I was trying not to dwell too much on that fact.**

**One of the best things about Charlie is he doesn't hover.**

Renee frowned. "Do I hover?"

Charlie barely kept himself from choking on his laugh. "Well, you can be a bit... overwhelming," he said, trying not to get on her bad side.

"Hmm," she simply said, wondering why that was such a bad thing.

**He left me alone to unpack and get settled, a feat that would have been altogether impossible for my mother.**

Renee grumbled, realizing that this was another thing that Charlie and Bella agreed on. She wondered if Phil thought she was clingy, too.

**It was nice to be alone, not to have to smile and look pleased; a relief to stare dejectedly out the window at the sheeting rain and let just a few tears escape.**

**I wasn't in the mood to go on a real crying jag. I would save that for bedtime, when I would have to think about the coming morning.**

"Well, I don't like hearing that," Renee frowned, seeing Charlie nod his head in the corner of her eye.

"I know how you feel, but unfortunately Bella insists on hiding her pain from us. Except for now, of course," he said, frowning at his own words.

He realized suddenly, how violent the pain she was feeling must be, if he and Renee were actually noticing it.

Not the most pleasant of epiphanies, he thought.

**Forks High School had a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty-seven – now fifty-eight – students; there were more than seven hundred people in my junior class alone back home. All the kids here had grown up together – their grandparents had been toddlers together.**

Charlie sighed. "Yeah, I can see how that might be depressing. But, she seemed to do fine. She made friends, at least." He said, and then frowned, thinking about just who exactly she had befriended.

**I would be the new girl from the big city, a curiosity, a freak.**

"They better not have thought that about her," Charlie grumbled, glaring at the air. He knew how rough teenagers could be, he wasn't too old to remember what it was like, when his school had gotten a new student.

**Maybe, if I looked like a girl from Phoenix should, I could work this to my advantage.**

**But physically, I'd never fit in anywhere. I should be tan, sporty, blond – a volleyball player, or a cheerleader, perhaps – all the things that go with living in the valley of the sun.**

"Was she really that different from the other kids in Phoenix?" Charlie wondered, worried about how people had been treating his little girl.

Renee sighed. "I guess, but it had more to do with who she was, than her appearance, I think. I'm sure the other kids weren't used to someone who wasn't interested in partying or breaking curfew or sneaking out. She would much rather stay at home with a book, as I'm sure you know."

Charlie suddenly remembered how old-fashioned he had found Edward, when he first met him, and wondered if that was why they had worked so well together.

**Instead, I was ivory-skinned, without even the excuse of blue eyes or red hair, despite the constant sunshine. I had always been slender, but soft somehow, obviously not an athlete; I didn't have the necessary hand-eye coordination to play sports without humiliating myself – and harming both myself and anyone else who stood too close.**

"She is so blind when it comes to herself. How can she be so perceptive and still not see how beautiful she is?" Renee wondered aloud, sadness in her voice.

Charlie silently agreed with her, refusing to think of it as being biased parents.

His daughter was beautiful.

**When I finished putting my clothes in the old pine dresser, I took my bag of bathroom necessities and went to the communal bathroom to clean myself up after the day of travel.**

**I looked at my face in the mirror as I brushed through my tangled, damp hair. Maybe it was the light, but already I looked sallower, unhealthy. My skin could be pretty – it was very clear, almost translucent-looking – but it all depended on color. I had no color here.**

**Facing my pallid reflection in the mirror, I was forced to admit that I was lying to myself. It wasn't just physically that I'd never fit in. And if I couldn't find a niche in a school with three thousand people, what were my chances here?"**

Even though he already knew the answer, he had to ask. "Didn't she have any friends in Phoenix?"

Once again, Renee sighed. "No, not really. There were people she spoke to in school, but she never spent any of her free time with them. I never complained, of course, because it meant that I got to have her for myself. But now, looking back... maybe it would've been healthier for her to have someone her own age to relate to."

Renee was beginning to realize how many mistakes she had made with her daughter and that particular revelation didn't make her feel to good about herself.

**I didn't relate well to people my age. Maybe the truth was that I didn't relate well to people, period.**

**Even my mother, who I was closer to than anyone else on the planet, was never in harmony with me, never on the exact same page.**

Renee knew how true that was, though she had always tried to ignore it in the past. It didn't seem to be possible, nor probable, any longer.

**Sometimes I wondered if I was seeing the same things through my eyes that the rest of the world was seeing through theirs. Maybe there was a glitch in my brain. But the cause didn't matter. All that mattered was the effect. And tomorrow would be just the beginning.**

"Oh, my poor girl," Renee said, no longer able to keep the tears from falling. "Why is everything so difficult for her? Was it something I did, in raising her?" She said, pleading with Charlie to renounce her words.

"Of course not, Renee. I don't think we'll ever truly know why it is this way for her. But I, for one, am happy she at least found someone to relate with. Even if they did leave," he said, anger coloring his last sentence.

Did they not realize the mess they would leave behind?

**I didn't sleep well that night, even after I was done crying. The constant whooshing of the rain and wind across the roof wouldn't fade into the background. I pulled the faded old quilt over my head, and later added the pillow, too. But I couldn't fall asleep until after midnight, when the rain finally settle into a quieter drizzle.**

Charlie couldn't help but think about how difficult it was for him to fall asleep, if the rain _wasn't _banging against the roof. He supposed it was all about what you were used to.

**Thick fog was all I could see out my window in the morning, and I could feel the claustrophobia creeping up on me. You could never see the sky here; it was like a cage.**

"How suffocated she must have felt, and I never noticed it in her e-mails." Renee stuttered out, hating what her daughter had gone through.

Charlie didn't say anything, but felt even worse, as he had actually been around her in person and still hadn't sensed anything bigger than a slight discomfort at being here.

**Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished me good luck at school. I thanked him, knowing his hope was wasted. Good luck tended to avoid me. Charlie left first, off to the police station that was his wife and family.**

Charlie frowned; he never realized what it must look like to other people. Before Bella came to town, and admittedly even after, all he'd had was his job, his buddies and his weekend fishing. Did that make him lonely, or could others just not see how that was enough for him?

Maybe he was just fooling himself, he thought with a frown.

**After he left, I sat at the old square oak table in one of the three unmatching chairs and examined his small kitchen, with its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor. Nothing was changed. My mother had painted the cabinets eighteen years ago in an attempt to bring some sunshine into the house. Over the small fireplace in the adjoining handkerchief-sized family room was a row of pictures. First a wedding picture of Charlie and my mom in Las Vegas, then one of the three of us in the hospital after I was born, taken by a helpful nurse, followed by the procession of my school pictures up to last year's. Those were embarrassing to look at – I would have to see what I could do to get Charlie to put them somewhere else, at least while I was living here.**

"Well, I guess that answers the question of what happened to the photos," Renee laughed, not noticing Charlie's expression, as he read the next words on the page.

**It was impossible, being in this house, not to realize that Charlie had never gotten over my mom. It made me uncomfortable.**

It made Renee uncomfortable too, but also brought up thoughts that she wasn't ready to look too closely at just yet. She fidgeted with the ring on her finger, forcing herself to think of Phil.

He was her husband, she thought, ignoring the fact that she had to remind herself of this fact.

She blamed it on the house full of memories

**I didn't want to be too early to school, but I couldn't stay in the house anymore. I donned my jacket – which had the feel of a biohazard suit – and headed out into the rain.**

**It was just drizzling still, not enough to soak me through immediately as I reached for the house key that was always hidden under the eaves by the door, and locked up. The sloshing of my new waterproof boots was unnerving. I missed the normal crunch of gravel as I walked. I was in a hurry to get out of the misty wet that swirled around my head and clung to my hair under my hood.**

**Inside the truck, it was nice and dry. Either Billy or Charlie had obviously cleaned it up, but the tan upholstered seats still smelled faintly of tobacco, gasoline, and peppermint. The engine started quickly, to my relief, but loudly, roaring to life and then idling at top volume. Well, a truck this old was bound to have a flaw. The antique radio worked, a plus that I hadn't expected.**

Charlie smiled, knowing that Jacob had done his very best on the car, to get it ready for when Bella took over. He was eternally grateful that the boy had offered his help, keeping him from having to dole out too much money on the one mechanic in town.

**Finding the school wasn't difficult, though I'd never been there before. The school was, like most other things, just off the highway.**

Renee laughed slightly. "Yeah, it's really not that difficult to get lost in Forks," she said.

Charlie just grumbled. Wasn't that supposed to be a good thing?

**It was not obvious that it was a school; only the sign, which declared it to be the Forks High School, made me stop. It looked like a collection of matching houses, built with maroon-colored bricks. There were so many trees and shrubs I couldn't see its size at first. Where was the feel of the institution? I wondered nostalgically. Where were the chain-link fences, the metal detectors?**

"I can't believe that she would wish for that?" Charlie said, realizing how little he knew about big city life.

"It's probably more the feeling of familiarity, than the actual metal detectors." She laughed, recognizing her daughter's reaction for what it was.

**I parked in front of the first building, which had a small sign over the door reading FRONT OFFICE. No one else was parked there, so I was sure it was off limits, but I decided I would get directions inside instead of circling around in the rain like an idiot. I stepped unwillingly out of the toasty truck cab and walked down a little stone path lined with dark hedges. I took a deep breath before opening the door.**

**Inside, it was brightly lit, and warmer than I'd hoped. The office was small; a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, a big clock ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots, as if there wasn't enough greenery outside. The room was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly colored flyers taped to its front. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses. She was wearing a purple t-shirt, which immediately made me feel overdressed.**

**The red-haired woman looked up. "Can I help you?"**

"**I'm Isabella Swan," I informed her, and saw the immediate awareness light her eyes. I was expected, a topic of gossip no doubt. Daughter of the Chief's flighty ex-wife, come home at last.**

"Oh my, is that what the town thinks of her?" Or me, she added silently.

Charlie shuffled a bit in his seat, but still decided to answer. "I think so, but I didn't tell them anything like that. I guess it's just easier for them to blame the one who left." He said, shrugging his shoulders like it wasn't a big deal.

Renee thought of the few friends she had made while living here, and wondered if they were among those that thought of her that way. Then, deciding she didn't really care, she simply hoped they weren't the ones thinking awful things about her innocent daughter.

"**Of course," she said. She dug through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." She brought several sheets to the counter to show me.**

**She went through my classes for me, highlighting the best route to each on the map, and gave me a slip to have each teacher sign, which I was to bring back at the end of the day. She smiled at me and hoped, like Charlie, that I would like it here in Forks. I smiled back as convincingly as I could.**

"Which probably wasn't very convincing," Charlie commented with a grin. As stated previously, Bella was a horrible liar.

**When I went back out to my truck, other students were starting to arrive. I drove around the school, following the line of traffic. I was glad to see that most of the cars were older like mine, nothing flashy. At home I'd lived in one of the few lower-income neighborhoods that were included in the Paradise Valley District. It was a common thing to see a new Mercedes or Porsche in the student lot. The nicest car here was a shiny Volvo, and it stood out.**

"Edward's car?" Renee asked, and Charlie nodded.

"Yes, Dr. Cullen had made good money before they moved here, so the kids all had nice cars, though for some reason they only drove Edward's to school." He said, distracted by the knowledge that there would be more Cullen interaction from now on.

He was actually looking forward to it, for two reasons. The first was the chance to see why his daughter had fallen so hard and fast for the boy, and the second was figuring out why Edward had left without keeping contact with a girl he claimed to care so much for.

**Still, I cut the engine as soon as I was in a spot, so that the thunderous volume wouldn't draw attention to me.**

"Poor Bella," Renee sighed, "she has always hated attention and I have a feeling she'll be getting a lot of that in the coming weeks."

**I looked at the map in the truck, trying to memorize it now; hopefully I wouldn't have to walk around with it stuck in front of my nose all day. I stuffed everything in my bag, slung the strap over my shoulder, and sucked in a huge breath. I can do this, I lief to myself feebly. No one was going to bite me. I finally exhaled and stepped out of the truck.**

**I kept my face pulled back into my hood as I walked to the sidewalk, crowded with teenagers. My plain black jacket didn't stand out, I noticed with relief.**

**Once I got around the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A large black "3" was painted on a white square on the east corner. I felt my breathing gradually creeping toward hyperventilation as I approached the door. I tried holding my breath as I followed two unisex raincoats through the door.**

**The classroom was small. The people in front of me stopped just inside the door to hang up their coats on a long row of hooks. I copied them. They were two girls, one a porcelain-colored blonde, the other also pale, with light brown hair. At least my skin wouldn't be a standout here.**

Charlie kept quiet, but couldn't help thinking how true that statement was. He'd never seen people as pale at the Cullen family.

**I took the slip up to the teacher, a tall, balding man whose desk had a nameplate identifying him as Mr. Mason. He gawked at me when he saw my name – not an encouraging response – and of course I flushed tomato red.**

"Even the teachers!" Renee exclaimed, while Charlie shook his head in disbelief.

**But at least he sent me to an empty desk at the back without introducing me to the class. It was harder for my new classmates to stare at me in the back, but somehow, they managed. I kept my eyes down on the reading list the teacher had given me. It was fairly basic: Brontë, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner. I'd already read everything. That was comforting... and boring. I wondered if my mom would send me my folder of old essays, or if she would think that was cheating.**

Charlie looked at the woman in question expectantly.

"Hmm," she said, mulling it over, "I'm actually not sure how I'd feel. I suppose it's not exactly cheating, since she has done the work at some point, but still..."

**I went through different arguments with her in my head while the teacher droned on.**

**When the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, a gangly boy with skin problems and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle to talk to me.**

"**You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" He looked like the overly helpful, chess club type.**

"Oh, looks like our little girl has an admirer," Renee smiled, still confused as to why no boys had asked her out in Phoenix.

"**Bella," I corrected. Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at me.**

"**Where's your next class?" he asked.**

**I had to check in my bag. "Um, Government, with Jefferson, in building six."**

**There was nowhere to look without meeting curious eyes.**

"**I'm heading toward building four, I could show you the way..." Definitely over-helpful. "I'm Eric," he added.**

**I smiled tentatively. "Thanks."**

**We got our jackets and headed out into the rain, which had picked up. I could have sworn several people behind us were walking close enough to eavesdrop. I hoped I wasn't getting paranoid.**

"Unfortunately, she's probably not," Charlie sighed. However much he loved Forks, there was something to be said about the curiosity of small town folk.

"**So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" he asked.**

"**Very."**

"**It doesn't rain much there, does it?"**

"**Three or four times a year."**

"**Wow, what must that be like?" he wondered.**

"**Sunny." I told him.**

Well, duh, Charlie thought internally. With a roll of his eyes he remembered that this was the boy who had been chosen for valedictorian at Graduation in six months.

"**You don't look very tan."**

"**My mother is part albino."**

"Oh, god," Renee laughed, realizing the same thing that Charlie had earlier. She had a very sarcastic daughter, much more so than even she, her best friend, was aware of.

**He studied my face apprehensively, and I sighed. It looked like clouds and a sense of humor didn't mix. A few months of this and I'd forget how to use sarcasm.**

"Oh, I hope not, I love hearing her like this," she giggled and then frowned. Suddenly realizing just how much of an adult Bella had acted around her. Why else had she never seen this carefree side of her little girl?

**We walked back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym. Eric walked me right to the door, though it was clearly marked.**

"**Well, good luck," he said as I touched the handle. "Maybe we'll have some other classes together?" He sounded hopeful.**

**I smiled at him vaguely and went inside.**

**The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. My Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, who I would have hated anyway just because of the subject he taught, was the only one who made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself. I stammered, blushed, and tripped over my own boots on the way to my seat.**

"That's my girl," Charlie chuckled.

**After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic, but mostly I just lied a lot. At least I never needed the map. One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of the difference between our heights. I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she prattled about teacher and classes. I didn't try to keep up.**

"Hmm, well, I suppose it's nice that she isn't being obvious, but I don't understand why she's taking her dislike of Forks out on potential friends," Renee frowned, wondering if she shouldn't have raised Bella to have better manners than that.

**We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. The boy from English, Eric, waved at me from across the room.**

**It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.**

"Oh, is that them, now?" Renee asked no one in particular, though her ex-husband answered.

"Yeah, most likely. I wonder what she first thought of them?" He said, more to himself than Renee.

**They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them.**

"How odd," Renee mused, while Charlie was lost in deep thought.

Bella had inherited her perceptive nature from her father, so he caught easily on to the differences that his daughter was about to point out. It didn't sit well with him, this feeling of unease. Almost like a premonition of things to come.

**They weren't gawking at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an excessively interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught, and held, my attention.**

**They didn't look anything alike. Of the three boys, one was big – muscled like a serious weight lifter, with dark, curly hair.**

Renee looked expectantly at Charlie, who sighed before speaking.

"Emmett, it sounds like, from the description."

**Another was taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond.**

"Jasper, is my best guess," he said, before she could ask.

**The last was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze-colored hair. He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college, or even teachers here rather than students.**

"And that's Edward, right?" She asked, remembering the young boy she had met six months ago, in Phoenix.

Charlie simply nodded his head and went back to the book.

**The girls were opposites. The tall one was statuesque. She had a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the _Sports Illustrated_ swimsuit issue, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back.**

"She sounds beautiful," Renee said, as Charlie simply said, "Rosalie," in response to her look.

**The short girl was pixielike, thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction.**

Renee smiled, thinking about that cheery, girl she had met at the same time as Edward. Alice was certainly a handful, she thought with a mental chuckle.

**And yet, they were all exactly alike. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in this sunless town. Paler than me, the albino. They all had very dark eyes, despite the range in hair tones. They also had dark shadows under those eyes – purplish, bruise-like shadows. As if they were all suffering from a sleepless night, or almost done recovering from a broken nose. Though their noses, all their features, were straight, perfect, angular.**

"Huh," Charlie said, looking out at the air in front of him.

"What?" Renee asked, having already dismissed the words her daughter had just thought.

"Nothing, just... I never noticed it before, but when she says it like that..." he shook his head, wondering if he wouldn't get all of his questions answered, by continuing to read the mysterious book.

**But all this is not why I couldn't look away.**

**I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful. They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine. Or painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful – maybe the perfect blond girl, or the bronze-haired boy.**

"They truly were a sight," Renee sighed, thinking of the doctor and his wife. Although, she thought briefly, they did have the strangest eye color.

**They were all looking away – away from each other, away from the other students, away from anything in particular as far as I could tell. As I watched, the small girl rose with her tray – unopened soda, unbitten apple –**

"Oh, Alice is so thin, I do hope she's not suffering from an eating disorder," Renee commented, while Charlie just frowned, not completely convinced by that explanation. It almost seemed to easy. Too simple.

**and walked away with a quick, graceful lope that belonged on a runway. I watched, amazed at her lithe dancer's step, till she dumped her tray and glided through the back door, faster than I would have thought possible. My eyes darted back to the others, who sat unchanging.**

"**Who are _they_?" I asked the girl from my Spanish class, whose name I'd forgotten.**

Charlie chuckled, _so much for her being perceptive_, he thought with a grin.

**As she looked up to see who I meant – though already knowing, probably, from my tone – suddenly he looked at her, the thinner one, the boyish one, the youngest, perhaps. He looked at my neighbor for just a fraction of a second, and then his dark eyes flickered to mine.**

**He looked away quickly, more quickly than I could, though in a flush of embarrassment I dropped my eyes at once. In that brief flash of a glance, his face held nothing of interest – it was as if she had called his name, and he'd looked up in involuntary response, already having decided not to answer.**

The darkness seemed to hover over Charlie, getting bleaker by the minute. He had always thought there was something wrong about the boy, but looking at it through Bella's eyes, his worry was only growing. Who was this kid?

**My neighbor giggled in embarrassment, looking at the table like I did.**

"**That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She said this under her breath.**

**I glanced sideways at the beautiful boy, who was looking at his tray now, picking a bagel to pieces with long, pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly, his perfect lips barely opening. The other three still looked away, and yet I felt he was speaking quietly to them.**

"They have a strange dynamic, don't they?" Renee said, not as far ahead in her thought process as her ex-husband, who was beginning to figure out the same things, that took his daughter a little bit longer.

Something was very wrong with that family.

**Strange, unpopular names, I thought. The kinds of names grandparents had.**

The crease in his forehead worsened, as the pieces seemed to click into place, one by one. The only thing he couldn't figure out, was exactly what their secret was. But they had a secret, of that he was sure. A big secret. Life changing.

He shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with the turn of events, before he forced himself to continue reading.

**But maybe that was in vogue here – small town names? I finally remembered that my neighbor was called Jessica, a perfectly common name. There were two girls named Jessica in my History class back home.**

"**They are... very nice-looking." I struggled with the conspicuous understatement.**

"**Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle. "They're all _together_ though – Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they _live_ together." Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town, I thought critically. But, if I was being honest, I had to admit that even in Phoenix, it would cause gossip.**

"Wow, I guess I never saw it that way," Renee announced, though she had been aware of the couples before now, "but you can't fight your heart." Her voice was despondent, as her attention flickered slightly to the man beside her.

And then, in true Renee fashion, she ignored her own thoughts and focused back on the book, instead of the man reading aloud from it.

"**Which ones are the Cullens?" I asked. "They don't look related..."**

"Are they?" Renee asked, suddenly curious.

Charlie frowned. "I don't know. I mean, the Hales are twins, but I actually don't know if Emmett, Alice and Edward are blood siblings. They don't look alike, but that doesn't have to mean that they aren't related."

Without being aware of it, Renee had put yet another puzzle piece in Charlie's already whirling mind.

"**Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales _are_ brother and sister, twins – the blondes – and they're foster children."**

"**They look a little old for foster children."**

"**They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."**

"**That's really kind of nice – for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."**

"Yes, it really is," Renee said, knowing that despite her job she wasn't sure she had the patience for so many teenagers at the same time. She really admired Mrs. Cullen's strength.

"**I guess so," Jessica admitted reluctantly, and I got the impression that she didn't like the doctor and his wife for some reason. With the glances she was throwing at their adopted children, I would presume the reason was jealousy. "I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though," she added, as if that lessened their kindness.**

"That..." Charlie grumbled, not ready to curse out a young girl, but still feeling protective of the nice doctor and his wife.

**Throughout all this conversation, my eyes flickered again and again to the table where the strange family sat. They continued to look at the walls and not eat.**

"Oh, I wonder if it was love at first sight," Renee practically cooed, her eyes glistening with the awe of a school girl.

Charlie just rolled his eyes and continued reading.

"**Have they always lived in Forks?" I asked. Surely I would have noticed them on one of my summers here.**

"**No," she said in a voice that implied it should be obvious, even to a new arrival like me. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."**

**I felt a surge of pity, and relief. Pity because, as beautiful as they were, they were outsiders, clearly not accepted. Relief that I wasn't the only newcomer here, and certainly not the most interesting by any standard.**

**As I examined them, the youngest, one of the Cullens, looked up and met my gaze, this time with evident curiosity in his expression. As I looked swiftly away, it seemed to me that his glance held some kind of unmet expectation.**

"Hmm," Charlie sighed, "it seems Edward was interested from the beginning, too." He said, not sure if he should feel pleased by that or not. Considering the consequences of that relationship, he decided against it. If only that boy had stayed away from his girl.

"**Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" I asked. I peeked at him from the corner of my eye, and he was still staring at me, but not gawking like the other students had today – he had a slightly frustrated expression. I looked down again.**

"Why does she keep saying he's frustrated? Why would he be frustrated?" Renee frowned, confused.

"Technically, he is on the other side of the room. She probably can't see his expression clearly." Charlie exclaimed, though not sure what to believe himself.

"**That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. I wondered when he'd turned her down.**

Renee smiled smugly, knowing how that would change now that her daughter was in town. Maybe that would teach that annoying girl a thing or two.

**I bit my lip to hide my smile. Then I glanced at him again. His face was turned away, but I thought his cheek appeared lifted, as if he were smiling, too.**

While Renee was busy telling herself that one of his siblings had obviously said something funny, Charlie's mood only darkened. He would definitely need a break, when this chapter was over. His emotions were completely haywire.

**After a few more minutes, the four of them left the table together. They all were noticeably graceful – even the big, brawny one. It was unsettling to watch. The one named Edward didn't look at me again.**

**I sat at the table with Jessica and her friends longer than I would have if I'd been sitting alone. I was anxious not to be late for class on my first day. One of my new acquaintances, who considerately reminded me that her was Angela, had Biology II with me the next hour. We walked to class together in silence. She was shy, too.**

Renee sighed in relief, at least there was one person there who would genuinely want to be Bella's friend.

**When we entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black-topped lab table exactly like the ones I was used to. She already had a neighbor. In fact, all the tables were filled but one. Next to the center aisle, I recognized Edward Cullen by his unusual hair, sitting next to that single open seat.**

**As I walked down the aisle to introduce myself to the teacher and get my slip signed, I was watching him surreptitiously. Just as I passed, he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes, with the strangest expression on his face – it was hostile, furious.**

"What!" Charlie shouted, causing Renee to jump up in her seat. "What is wrong with that kid? Why would he glare at her like that?" He bit out, through clenched teeth. Nobody treated his little girl like that, it didn't matter how much Bella loved him.

"Calm down, Charlie," Renee soothed, laying a hand on his arm, "I'm sure it'll be explained soon enough. He's bound to have a rational explanation for his reaction." She said, though now even she was beginning to worry, thinking back on the cafeteria scene.

She may not be as perceptive as her ex and daughter, but she certainly wasn't dumb, either.

Something was wrong.

**I looked away quickly, shocked, going red again. I stumbled over a book in the walkway and had to catch myself on the edge of a table. The girl sitting there giggled.**

**I'd noticed that his eyes were black – coal black.**

"Well, that's just not possible," Renee rolled her eyes, confused with Bella's ridiculous behavior, "besides, Edward's eyes are gold, not black." She dismissed it, quickly.

Charlie, on the other hand, was thinking about all the times he had met Edward, or one of the other Cullens. Their eyes had never been the exact same color, ever. He shivered, but chose to take the same route as Renee, blaming it on the weather.

He wasn't ready for anything else right now.

**Mr. Banner signed my slip and handed me a book with no nonsense about introductions. I could tell we were going to get along. Of course, he had no choice but to send me to the one open seat in the middle of the room. I kept my eyes down as I went to sit by _him_, bewildered by the antagonistic stare he'd given me.**

"You're not the only one," Charlie mumbled, as Renee whimpered at how this boy was treating her daughter.

How did they ever go from _that_ to such heartbreaking love?

**I didn't look up as I set my book on the table and took my seat, but I saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. He was leaning away from me, sitting on extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like smelled something bad. Inconspicuously, I sniffed my hair. It smelled like strawberries, the scent of my favorite shampoo. It seemed an innocent enough odor. I let my hair fall over my right shoulder, making a dark curtain between us, and tried to pay attention to the teacher.**

**Unfortunately the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd already studied. I took notes carefully anyway, always looking down.**

**I couldn't stop myself from peeking occasionally through the screen of my hair at the strange boy next to me. During the whole class , he never relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far from me as possible. I could see his hand on his left leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under his pale skin. This, too, he never relaxed.**

"Isn't that uncomfortable? Sitting like that for an entire hour," Renee frowned, her intuition flickering, yet her mind not allowing herself to figure it out just yet.

**He had the long sleeves of his white shirt pushed up to his elbows, and his forearm was surprisingly hard and muscular beneath his light skin. He wasn't nearly as slight as he'd looked next to his burly brother.**

**The class seemed to drag on longer than the others. Was it because the day was finally coming to a close, or because I was waiting for his tight fist to loosen? It never did; he continued to sit so still it looked like he wasn't breathing. What was wrong with him? Was this his normal behavior? I questioned my judgment on Jessica's bitterness at lunch today. Maybe she was not as resentful as I'd thought.**

**It couldn't have anything to do with me. He didn't know me from Eve.**

"And yet, I have a feeling it has everything to do with you," Charlie sighed, glaring at the book.

**I peeked up at him one more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. As I flinched away from him, shrinking against my chair, the phrase _if looks could kill_ suddenly ran through my mind.**

"Oh, no, Charlie. You don't think their relationship was... violent?" She said, whispering the last word.

Charlie's fists tightened around the book. "It better not have been, or I swear I will track that bastard down..."

**At that moment, the bell rang loudly, making me jump, and Edward Cullen was out of his seat. Fluidly he rose – he was much taller than I'd thought – his back to me, and he was out the door before anyone else was out of their seat.**

"How slow are those students?" Renee, as always, jumped to the most believable explanation, while Charlie pondered all of the things he had learned so far. It certainly helped to read it from the perspective of his very perceptive daughter.

**I sat frozen in my seat, staring blankly after him. He was so mean. It wasn't fair. I began gathering up my things slowly, trying to block the anger that filled me, for fear my eyes would tear up. For some reason, my temper was hardwired to my tear ducts. I usually cried when I was angry, a humiliating tendency.**

"That took a while to get used to," Renee sighed, while Charlie nodded in agreement.

It had been sad, in the beginning, to constantly think they had upset their daughter, when in reality she was just angry. It had been a relief to figure out the truth, though it also made it harder to tell when she actually was sad.

"**Aren't you Isabella Swan?" a male voice asked.**

Charlie winced, Bella wasn't going to like that.

**I looked up to see a cute, baby-faced boy, his pale blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes, smiling at me in a friendly way. He obviously didn't think I smelled bad.**

Renee sighed, with a smile. "Another admirer, of course."

Charlie only wondered why Bella couldn't have picked one of them, instead of that boy.

"**Bella," I corrected him, with a smile.**

"**I'm Mike."**

"**Hi, Mike."**

"**Do you need any help finding your next class?"**

"**I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it."**

"**That's my next class, too." He seemed thrilled, though it wasn't that big of a coincidence in a school this small.**

**We walked to class together; he was a chatterer – he supplied most of the conversation, which made it easy for me. He'd lived in California till he was ten, so he knew how I felt about the sun. It turned out he was in my English class also. He was the nicest person I'd met today.**

**But as we were entering the gym, he asked, "So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that?"**

"Why did he take such an instant dislike to Bella?" Renee had never felt more confused, than she had in the last hour.

"I don't know, but he better explain himself before this book is done." Charlie practically growled.

**I cringed. So I wasn't the only one who had noticed. And apparently, that _wasn't_ Edward Cullen's usual behavior. I decided to play dumb.**

"**Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?" I asked artlessly.**

"**Yes," he said. "He looked like he was in pain or something."**

"**I don't know," I responded. "I never spoke to him."**

"**He's a weird guy." Mike lingered by me instead of heading to the dressing room. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."**

While Renee smiled, Charlie winced. He took back his earlier thought, he'd much rather that Bella hadn't picked any boy. And he certainly didn't want to hear about it, though he suddenly realized that with this book, that could no longer be avoided.

His face was a permanent grimace.

**I smiled at him before walking through the girls locker room door. He was friendly and clearly admiring. But it wasn't enough to ease my irritation.**

**The gym teacher, Coach Clapp, found me a uniform but didn't make me dress down for today's class. At home, only two years of P.E. were required. Here, P.E. was mandatory all four years. Forks was literally my personal hell on Earth.**

Renee giggled, while Charlie chuckled. Both, however, realized how few times she'd spent in the ER, since moving to Forks. Maybe that would be answered as well.

**I watched four volleyball games running simultaneously. Remembering how many injuries I had sustained – and inflicted – playing volleyball, I felt faintly nauseated.**

**The final bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return my paperwork. The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong, and colder. I wrapped my arms around myself.**

**When I walked into the warm office, I almost turned around and walked back out.**

**Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of me. I recognized again that tousled bronze hair. He didn't appear to notice the sound of my entrance. I stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free.**

**He was arguing with her in a low, attractive voice. I quickly picked up the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology to another time – any other time.**

"Seriously, what the hell is his problem!" Charlie was

**I just couldn't believe that this was about me. It had to be something else, something that happened before I entered the Biology room. The look on his face must have been about another aggravation entirely. It was impossible that this stranger could take such a sudden, intense dislike to me.**

"It _should_ be impossible, but I don't think it is," Charlie mumbled, glad the chapter at least seemed to be coming to an end.

**The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling my hair around my face. The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward Cullen's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at me – his face was absurdly handsome – with piercing, hate-filled eyes.**

Even as he continued to read aloud, so as not to let Renee on to his thoughts, his mind was far from the room. Something about what had been written, made it seem as if it was the way Bella smelled, her scent, that caused this violent reaction in Edward. And suddenly, his memories were filled with trips to La Push, and stories of the tribe's many Legends.

Could it be?

**For an instant, I felt a thrill of genuine fear, raising the hair on my arms. The look only lasted a second, but it chilled me more than the freezing wind. He turned back to the receptionist.**

"**Never mind, then," he said hastily in a voice like velvet. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." And he turned on his heel without another look at me, and disappeared out the door.**

**I went meekly to the desk, my face white for once instead of red, and handed her the signed slip.**

"**How did your first day go, dear?" the receptionist asked maternally.**

"**Fine," I lied, my voice weak. She didn't look convinced.**

**When I got to the truck, it was almost the last car in the lot. It seemed like a haven, already the closest thing home I had in this damp green hole. I sat inside for a while, just staring out the windshield blankly. But soon I was cold enough to need the heater, so I turned the key and the engine roared to life. I headed back to Charlie's house, fighting tears the whole way there.**

"He made her cry," Renee huffed, genuinely annoyed with this boy's actions, but not enough to consider everything that her ex-husband was currently considering.

Then again, Renee had never heard the Legends.

Charlie decided not to think about the theories he had too much, until the book gave him either some more answers or some more clues. He slammed it shut and put it back on the table, anxious for that break he had been waiting a while for now. One look at Renee, and he knew she needed a breather as well.

Glancing at the clock over the mantle, he saw that it was only a few minutes past ten and there were still several hours left until Bella came home. Though what that would change, he couldn't see. She always went straight to her room anyway, and stayed up there until she had to make dinner.

Charlie had called in some of his vacation time, though, for the remainder of Renee's stay and however long it took to finish the books. He decided to just order some pizza tonight, since it would give them more time to read.

He doubted that Bella would be even remotely interested in what her parents were doing downstairs, in the numb state she was currently in. So, he picked up the book again, handed it to Renee and told her he was getting some more coffee for them.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

**Authors Note: **And there you go. Hope you liked it. It's very difficult to figure out the voices of Charlie and Renee, since they aren't in the books as much as most of the other characters. I'm trying though, including the fact that Renee is childish and Charlie is shy, but responsible.

Remember to review :P


	3. Open Book

**Authors Note: **I would just like to correct a few errors, that a reviewer pointed out to me. **mitchyc;** Part of what you said was true, I forgot that Esme was still in Forks, when she met Carlisle, Edward and Alice, but I know she did meet them. I won't change it though, unfortunately I need Renee to have met Esme, for certain future things to work. But thank you for pointing it out, so that I can inform readers of this slight change.

**Fan;** It was never my intention to make Charlie out to be the bad guy, I don't know why you dislike him. But, come on. Look at it from his point of view, after reading that chapter and knowing how broken his daughter currently is? Also, Renee was the one that pointed it out, why aren't you hating on her? :)

Anyway, enough of my rambling, just wanted to answer some people, get some things straight. I'll probably be doing this again soon, but you don't _have_ to read the A/N ;P

Well, enjoy and I hope the characters aren't too much OOC.

* * *

Open Book

* * *

Another ten minutes later and Charlie returned to the living room, where Renee had made herself comfortable against the arm of the couch, her feet tucked under her on the cushion. Deciding to do the same, he walked over to his trusty recliner and sat down heavily.

Renee already had the book open to the next chapter and informed her ex-husband that it was called _Open Book_.

And then she began.

**The next day was better... and worse.**

And quickly stopped again.

"Why do you think that is?" She furrowed her brows in thought.

Charlie had to think back almost a year, but he seemed to reach a conclusion. "Not long after Bella came here, I heard that Edward was out of school for almost a week. Although I don't know if he's the reason it's better or worse." He said, frowning.

He wasn't sure what to hope for.

**It was better because it wasn't raining yet, though the clouds were dense and opaque. It was easier because I knew what to expect of my day. Mike came to sit by me in English, and walked me to my next class, with Chess Club Eric glaring at him all the while; that was flattering.**

"Note the sarcasm," Renee giggled, loving this new side of her daughter.

**People didn't look at me quite as much as they had yesterday. I sat with a big group at lunch that included Mike, Eric, Jessica, and several other people whose names and faces I now remembered. I began to feel like I was treading water, instead of drowning in it.**

"Well, that's something, at least," Charlie mumbled, not liking the constant reminder of how much Bella hated living in Forks.

**It was worse because I was tired; I still couldn't sleep with the wind echoing around the house.**

"I didn't even notice, she must've looked so tired in the beginning," Charlie commented, while Renee continued.

**It was worse because Mr. Varner called on me in Trig when my hand wasn't raised and I had the wrong answer. It was miserable because I had to play volleyball, and the one time I didn't cringe out of the way of the ball, I hit my teammate in head with it.**

That remark got a few chuckles out, but no comments, since both parents were used to this side of their daughter.

**And it was worse because Edward Cullen wasn't in school at all.**

"Well, I guess it was both," Renee said. "Worse, but only because he wasn't there." This made her smile softly, until she remembered the broken girl that boy had left behind.

**All morning I was dreading lunch, fearing his bizarre glares. Part of me wanted to confront him and demand to know what his problem was. While I was lying sleepless in my bed, I even imagined what I would say. But I knew myself too well to think I would really have the guts to do it. I made the Cowardly Lion look like the terminator.**

Renee shook her head. "She doesn't give herself enough credit. That girl is very brave," she said, sounding so sure of herself, that Charlie didn't dare question it. He didn't know Bella as well, after all.

**But when I walked into the cafeteria with Jessica – trying to keep my eyes from sweeping the place for him, and failing entirely – I saw that his four siblings of sorts were sitting together at the same table, and he was not with them.**

"I wonder if he's sick." Renee said, once again ignoring the very real fact, that her daughter had everything to do with his disappearance. Charlie wasn't as obtuse, unfortunately, as his frown deepened even further, if possible.

**Mike interrupted us and steered us to his table. Jessica seemed elated by the attention, and her friends quickly joined us. But as I tried to listen to their easy chatter, I was terribly uncomfortable, waiting nervously for the moment he would arrive. I hoped that he would simply ignore me when he came, and prove my suspicions false.**

**He didn't come, and as time passed I grew more and more tense.**

"I thought she'd be able to relax, knowing he wasn't there?" Charlie was confused and Renee stopped reading to explain, what she had felt was obvious.

"Of course she's tense. She doesn't know why he acted the way he did and doesn't know if he's at school and simply skipping lunch for some reason. She knows that there is a possibility that he'll still show up, and it makes her nervous."

**I walked to Biology with more confidence when, by the end of lunch, he still hadn't showed. Mike, who was taking on the qualities of a golden retriever, walked faithfully by my side to class. I held my breath at the door, but Edward Cullen wasn't there, either. I exhaled and went to my seat. Mike followed, talking about an upcoming trip to the beach. He lingered by my desk till the bell rang. Then he smiled at me wistfully and went to sit by a girl with braces and a bad perm. It looked like I was going to have to do something about Mike, and it wouldn't be easy. In a town like this, where everyone lived on top of everyone else, diplomacy was essential. I had never been enormously tactful; I had no practice dealing with overly friendly boys.**

Charlie grumbled under his breath, but Renee caught a few words, like 'I'll help', 'get my gun' and 'lock up my daughter'.

**I was relieved that I had the desk to myself, that Edward was absent. I told myself that repeatedly. But I couldn't get rid of the nagging suspicion that I was the reason he wasn't there. It was ridiculous, and egotistical, to think that I could affect anyone that strongly. It was impossible. And yet I couldn't stop worrying that it was true.**

Charlie was worrying about the exact same thing, but didn't say anything since it was obvious that Renee's mind hadn't gone there. Yet.

**When the school day was finally done, and the blush was fading out of my cheeks from the volleyball incident, I changed quickly back into my jeans and navy blue sweater. I hurried from the girls' locker room, pleased to find that I had successfully evaded my retriever friend for the moment. I walked swiftly out to the parking lot. It was crowded now with fleeing students. I got in my truck and dug through my bag to make sure I had what I needed.**

**Last night I'd discovered that Charlie couldn't cook much besides fried eggs and bacon.**

"Humph," he grumbled, fidgeting in his seat, while Renee hid a grin.

Not that she was any better herself.

**So I requested that I be assigned kitchen detail for the duration of my stay. He was willing enough to hand over the keys to the banquet hall. I also found out that he had no food in the house. So I had my shopping list and the cash from the jar in the cupboard labeled FOOD MONEY, and I was on my way to the Thriftway.**

**I gunned my deafening engine to life, ignoring the heads that turned in my direction, and backed carefully into a place in the line of cars that were waiting to exit the parking lot. As I waited, trying to pretend that the earsplitting rumble was coming from someone else's car, I saw the two Cullens and the Hale twins getting into their car. It was the shiny new Volvo. Of course. I hadn't noticed their clothes before – I'd been too mesmerized by their faces. Now that I looked, it was obvious that they were all dressed exceptionally well; simply, but in clothes that subtly hinted at designer origins. With their remarkable good looks, the style with which they carried themselves, they could have worn dishrags and pulled it off. It seemed excessive for them to have both looks and money. But as far as I could tell, life worked that way most of the time It didn't look as if it bought them any acceptance here.**

**No, I didn't fully believe that. The isolation must be their desire; I couldn't imagine any door that wouldn't be opened by that degree of beauty.**

Charlie agreed, and wondered, not for the first time, why the kids hadn't shown off more. It would've been typical of their age. He had always seen that as a good feature, in the past, but now he couldn't help but think that it had something to do with this secret they were keeping.

**They looked at my noisy truck as I passed them, just like everyone else.**

"They were probably looking at her for other reasons," he commented, but Renee just shot him a curious look.

She was obviously sticking to her theory that Edward was sick, for now.

**I kept my eyes straight forward and was relieved when I finally was free of the school grounds.**

**The Thriftway was not far from the school, just a few streets south, off the highway. It was nice to be inside the supermarket; it felt normal. I did the shopping at home, and I fell into the pattern of the familiar task gladly.**

Renee ignored the clench in her heart, another reminder of the glaringly wrong relationship she had kept with Bella when they lived together. That talk couldn't come fast enough. She looked at the clock, anxious for Bella to come home, forgetting for a moment that the state her daughter was in right now, wouldn't make for a very helpful ear.

**The store was big enough inside that I couldn't hear the tapping of the rain on the roof to remind me where I was.**

**When I got home, I unloaded all the groceries, stuffing them in wherever I could find an open space. I hoped Charlie wouldn't mind.**

"Course not," he remarked, rolling his eyes.

It had been nice, this past year, to eat some real food. Not to mention the chance to eat dinner with someone, instead of in front of the TV. Even if they both stayed silent throughout most of the meal.

**I wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, covered a steak in marinade and balanced it on top of a carton of eggs in the fridge.**

Renee grimaced. Bella always made it look and sound so easy, but for some reason she just couldn't get it to work, without poisoning someone else or herself, in the process. This was where she was 'clumsy'.

**When I was finished with that, I took my book bag upstairs. Before starting my homework, I changed into a pair of dry sweats, pulled my damp hair up into a ponytail, and checked my e-mail for the first time. I had three messages.**

"**Bella," my mom wrote...**

_**Write me as soon as you get in. Tell me how your flight was. Is it raining? I miss you already. I'm almost finished packing for Florida, but I can't find my pink blouse. Do you know where I put it? Phil says hi. Mom.**_

Again, Renee frowned. How could she not know herself where her clothes were? She'd never realized before, how much she did indeed lean on her too-young daughter, for things that should be so simple, and probably were, for anyone else.

**I sighed and went to the next. It was sent eight hours after the first.**

"**Bella," she wrote...**

_**Why haven't you emailed me yet? What are you waiting for? Mom?**_

**The last was from this morning.**

_**Isabella,  
If I haven't heard from you by 5:30 p.m. today I'm calling Charlie.**_

**I checked the clock. I still had an hour, but my mom was well known for jumping the gun.**

_**Mom,  
Calm down. I'm writing right now. Don't do anything rash.  
Bella.**_

**I sent that, and began again.**

Charlie knew better than to let out a snicker, but sometimes Renee was just such a worry wart.

_**Mom,  
Everything is great. Of course it's raining. I was waiting for something to write about. School isn't bad. Just a little repetitive. I met some nice kids who sit by me at lunch.  
Your blouse is at the dry cleaners – you were supposed to pick it up Friday.  
Charlie bought me a truck, can you believe it? I love it. It's old, but really sturdy, which is good, you know, for me.  
I miss you, too. I'll write again soon, but I'm not going to check my e-mail every five minutes. Relax, breathe. I love you.  
Bella.**_

**I had decided to read Wuthering Heights – the novel we were currently studying in English – yet again for the fun of it, and that's what I was doing when Charlie came home.**

"Good lord, how many times has she read that by now?" Charlie asked, eyes wide.

"I've lost track," Renee said, wryly.

**I'd lost track of the time, and I hurried downstairs to take the potatoes out and put the steak in to broil.**

"**Bella?" my father called out when he heard me on the stairs.**

**Who else? I thought to myself.**

Charlie's face reddened, while it was Renee's turn to snicker. It was such a typical Charlie moment, she couldn't help but think.

"**Hey, Dad, welcome home."**

"**Thanks." He hung up his gun belt and stepped out of his boots as I bustled about the kitchen. As far as I was aware, he'd never shot the gun on the job. But he kept it ready.**

"Have you?" Renee asked, curious.

Charlie looked uncomfortable for a moment, fidgeting. "A few times, but only in the air like a warning. I've never hit anyone."

**When I came here as a child, he would always remove the bullets as soon as he walked in the door. I guess he considered me old enough now not to shoot myself by accident, and not depressed enough to shoot myself on purpose.**

Charlie frowned, ever since two months ago, that had changed. It had now become habit to take out the bullets when he came home. Although he didn't really think that she would do something like that, he didn't want to risk it.

Renee saw the uncomfortable look in his eyes, and decided that she'd rather not know.

"**What's for dinner?" he asked warily. My mother was an imaginative cook, and her experiments weren't always edible. I was surprised, and sad, that he seemed to remember that far back.**

Renee's smile was also sad, she was truly starting to understand what Bella had meant, when she mentioned that Charlie hadn't moved on. It made her feel horrible about flashing her new marriage with Phil in his face, but there was nothing she could do about that now.

A smaller voice, which she desperately attempted to ignore, was flattered and moved by the love that was still there, after all these years.

"**Steak and potatoes," I answered, and he looked relieved.**

**He seemed to feel awkward standing in the kitchen doing nothing; he lumbered into the living room to watch TV while I worked. We were both more comfortable that way. I made a salad while the steaks cooked, and set the table.**

**I called him in when dinner was ready, and he sniffed appreciatively as he walked into the room.**

"**Smells good, Bell."**

"**Thanks."**

**We ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable. Neither of us was bothered by the quiet. In some ways, we were well suited for living together.**

Renee couldn't help but laugh at this. It was so true. Back when Bella had lived with her, they were well suited for living together, too, simply because Renee talked so much, that it wasn't necessary for Bella to speak in order to keep up a conversation.

"**So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?" he asked as he was taking seconds.**

"**Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica. I sit with her friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly. Everybody seems pretty nice." With one outstanding exception.**

"I wish she would've told me about that," Charlie mumbled, but Renee just gave him a pointed look.

They both knew that Bella would never have spoken up about something like that. She much preferred to suffer in silence, lest she talk badly about another person.

"**That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid – nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here."**

"**Do you know the Cullen family?" I asked hesitantly.**

"**Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."**

"**They... the kids... are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school."**

**Charlie surprised me by looking angry.**

"**People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here," he continued, getting louder. "We're lucky to have him – lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature – I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should – camping trips every other weekend... Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk."**

**It was the longest speech I'd ever heard Charlie make. He must feel strongly about whatever people were saying.**

"She's right," Renee said, looking at him with something akin to awe, while he simply averted his eyes and tried to forget about the creeping blush on his cheeks.

Renee frowned, realizing that she had to rethink a lot of the things she thought she knew about her ex.

**I backpedaled. "They seemed nice enough to me. I just noticed they kept to themselves. They're all very attractive," I added, trying to be more complimentary.**

"**You should see the doctor," Charlie said, laughing. "It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around."**

They both chuckled at this, as Renee remembered very well her reaction to seeing the doctor in Phoenix. If it wasn't for Mrs. Cullen and Phil...

**We lapsed back into silence as we finished eating. He cleared the table while I started on the dishes. He went back to the TV, and after I finished washing the dishes by hand – no dishwasher – I went upstairs unwillingly to work on my math homework. I could feel a tradition in the making.**

**That night it was finally quiet. I fell asleep quickly, exhausted.**

"Well, at least she got some sleep, finally," it came from Charlie, who had been worried about that up until now. Maybe it was more because it was close to how things were right now, too. All those obviously horrible nightmares was doing wonders for the bags under both their eyes.

**The rest of the week was uneventful. I got used to the routine of my classes. By Friday I was able to recognize, if not name, almost all the students at school. In Gym, the kids on my team learned not to pass me the ball and to step quickly in front of me if the other team tried to take advantage of my weakness. I happily stayed out of their way.**

**Edward Cullen didn't come back to school.**

**Every day, I watched anxiously until the rest of the Cullens entered the cafeteria without him. Then I could relax and join in the lunchtime conversation. Mostly it centered around a trip to the La Push Ocean Park in two weeks that Mike was putting together. I was invited, and had agreed to go, more out of politeness than desire.**

"She needs to stop being so polite, and just do things that she wants to," Charlie grumbled, aware that this was something he was guilty of as well, in the past.

It certainly explained how Renee had gotten away with Bella, in the first place, without him following after.

**Beaches should be hot and dry.**

Renee sighed at this, missing her home in Jacksonville already. Though the beaches weren't as hot and dry there, as they were in Phoenix, it definitely wasn't as wet and muddy as here in Washington.

**By Friday I was perfectly comfortable entering my Biology class, no longer worried that Edward would be there. For all I knew, he had dropped out of school.**

Silently, Charlie wished he had.

**I tried not to think about him, but I couldn't totally suppress the worry that I was responsible for his continued absence, ridiculous as it seemed.**

_That's my little girl,_ Charlie thought with a small smile. She was too good for Edward, too good for anyone, really. And incredibly selfless, even when others didn't deserve her kindness.

**My first weekend in Forks passed without incident. Charlie, unused to spending time in the usually empty house, worked most of the weekend.**

The man in question frowned at this, wondering if he shouldn't have made more of an effort.

Hindsight, and all that, he thought with a shrug, while mentally promising himself to do better in the future.

Unknown to him, beside him Renee was making that same silent promise. The one thing they could agree on, and it turned out to be the poorness of their parenting.

**I cleaned the house, got ahead on my homework, and wrote my mom more bogusly cheerful e-mail.**

Renee sighed. "Why didn't I pick up on that?" She asked no one in particular.

**I did drive to the library Saturday, but it was so poorly stocked that I didn't bother to get a card; I would have to make a date to visit Olympia or Seattle soon and find a good bookstore. I wondered idly what kind of gas mileage the truck got... and shuddered at the thought.**

Charlie shuddered as well, thinking about the day Bella had driven herself to Phoenix. He was still surprised that the truck had made it that far without breaking down.

**The rain stayed soft over the weekend, quiet, so I was able to sleep well.**

Charlie's sigh was full of relief, it seemed things were looking up, on that front at least.

**People greeted me in the parking lot Monday morning. I didn't know all their names, but I waved back and smiled at everyone. It was colder this morning, but happily not raining. In English, Mike took his accustomed seat by my side. We had a pop quiz on Wuthering Heights. It was straight forward, very easy.**

**All in all, I was feeling a lot more comfortable than I had thought I would feel by this point. More comfortable than I had ever expected to feel here.**

Charlie knew this was the best he would get, without involving the reason she ended up being happy for the move, and took the remark with a pleased smile.

**When we walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white. I could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. The wind bit at my cheeks, my nose.**

"**Wow," Mike said. "It's snowing."**

**I looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past my face.**

"**Ew." Snow. There went my good day.**

"She doesn't like snow?" Charlie asked, proving once more how little he knew about Arizona.

"I don't think she's ever seen it before," she said, and then remembered the months the three of them lived in Forks. "Not that she can recall, anyway."

**He looked surprised. "Don't you like snow?"**

"**No. That means it's too cold for rain." Obviously. "Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes – you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."**

"**Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" he asked incredulously.**

"**Sure I have." I paused. "On TV."**

Charlie chuckled.

**Mike laughed. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked into the back of his head. We both turned to see where it came from. I had my suspicions about Eric, who was walking away, his back toward us – in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike apparently had the same notion. He bent over and began scraping together a big pile of the white mush.**

"**I'll see you at lunch, okay?" I kept walking as I spoke. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside."**

**He just nodded, his eyes on Eric's retreating figure.**

Charlie rolled his eyes. Now they were literally fighting over her? Something would have to be done about that, he thought with a slightly maniacal grin, which Renee decided to pretend she hadn't seen.

**Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow; apparently it was the first snowfall of the new year. I kept my mouth shut. Sure, it was drier than rain – until it melted in your socks.**

**I walked alertly to the cafeteria with Jessica after Spanish. Mush balls were flying everywhere. I kept a binder in my hands, ready to use as a shield if necessary.**

**Jessica thought I was hilarious, but something in my expression kept her from lobbing a snowball at me herself.**

"Smart girl," Renee choked out, laughing.

**Mike caught up to us as we walked in the doors, laughing, with ice melting the spikes in his hair. He and Jessica were talking animatedly about the snow fight as we got in line to buy food. I glanced toward that table in the corner out of habit. And then I froze where I stood. There were five people at the table.**

"Oh, he's back," Renee was relieved, for the same reason as Charlie. Maybe now, they could finally get some answers.

**Jessica pulled on my arm.**

"**Hello? Bella? What do you want?"**

**I looked down; my ears were hot. I had no reason to feel self-conscious, I reminded myself. I hadn't done anything wrong.**

"**What's with Bella?" Mike asked Jessica.**

"Why doesn't he ask _her_?" Charlie growled, hands clenched around the chair. This boy was really starting to get on his nerves.

Renee could do nothing but silently agree with her ex.

"**Nothing," I answered. "I'll just get a soda today." I caught up to the end of the line.**

"**Aren't you hungry?" Jessica asked.**

"**Actually, I feel a little sick," I said, my eyes still on the floor.**

"She should eat something, especially if she's so nervous," Renee fretted, frowning at the realization that this emotion was new to her.

**I waited for them to get their food, and then followed them to a table, my eyes on my feet.**

**I sipped my soda slowly, my stomach churning. Twice Mike asked, with unnecessary concern, how I was feeling. I told him it was nothing, but I was wondering if I should play it up and escape to the nurse's office for the next hour.**

"How do these kids not see right through her? She's a terrible liar," Charlie was dumbfounded.

"I know, and her face is so easy to read," Renee agreed with a nod.

**Ridiculous. I shouldn't have to run away.**

"Damn straight," Charlie mumbled.

**I decided to permit myself on glance at the Cullen family's table. If he was glaring at me, I would skip Biology, like the coward I was.**

**I kept my head down and glanced up under my lashes. None of them were looking this way. I lifted my head a little.**

**They were laughing. Edward, Jasper, and Emmett all had their hair entirely saturated with melting snow. Alice and Rosalie were leaning away as Emmett shook his dripping hair toward them. They were enjoying the snowy day, just like everyone else – only they looked more like a scene from a movie than the rest of us.**

Yet another frown. Charlie was once again back to wondering about the oddness of this family. He knew of his daughter's perceptive nature, so it was very possible that it was a scene, that it was somehow fabricated for some unfathomable reason.

**But, aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and I couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was. I examined Edward the most carefully.**

"Of course," he said, rolling his eyes. He really wasn't looking forward to when the two started dating. It was a father's worst nightmare, to have to endure private details of their daughter's relationship with her boyfriend.

**His skin was less pale, I decided – flushed from the snow fight maybe – the circles under his eyes much less noticeable. But there was something more. I pondered, staring, trying to isolate the change.**

"**Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica intruded, her eyes following my stare.**

**At that precise moment, his eyes flashed over to meet mine.**

Another clue to file away for later. It couldn't have been a coincidence, that this was the exact moment he decided to look at the table, or more precisely, at Bella. Charlie's worry was ever growing.

**I dropped my head, letting my hair fall to conceal my face. I was sure, though, in the instant our eyes met, that he didn't look harsh or unfriendly as he had the last time I'd seen him. He looked merely curious again, unsatisfied in some way.**

"**Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica giggled in my ear.**

"**He doesn't look angry, does he?" I couldn't help asking.**

"**No," she said, sounding confused by my question. "Should he be?"**

"**I don't think he likes me," I confided. I still felt queasy. I put my head down on my arm.**

"**The Cullen's don't like anybody... well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you."**

Charlie realized why the town had been so shocked by the news of his daughter dating that Cullen kid. It was obviously completely out of character for one of them to show interest in a person that wasn't family. It probably just got worse, when Alice became Bella's friend, as well.

"**Stop looking at him," I hissed.**

**She snickered, but she looked away. I raised my head enough to make sure that she did, contemplating violence if she resisted.**

Charlie rolled his eyes, while Renee giggled. Bella was about the gentlest creature they'd ever met. She'd never follow through with it.

**Mike interrupted us then – he was planning an epic battle of the blizzard in the parking lot after school and wanted us to join. Jessica agreed enthusiastically. The way she looked at Mike left little doubt that she would be up for anything he suggested. I kept silent. I would have to hide in the gym until the parking lot cleared.**

Charlie frowned, at how often his daughter contemplated ditching, although he was happy that it wasn't always directly related to Edward. He didn't want to hear about what a horrible influence that boy had been on his otherwise law-abiding girl.

**For the rest of the lunch hour I very carefully kept my eyes at my own table. I decided to honor the bargain I'd made with myself. Since he didn't look angry, I would go to Biology.**

"Good girl," Charlie nodded, satisfied that it was only an errant thought from a frightened girl.

**My stomach did frightened little flips at the thought of sitting next to him again.**

**I didn't really want to walk to class with Mike as usual – he seemed to be a popular target for the snowball snipers – but when we went to the door, everyone besides me groaned in unison.**

"Ah, the snow's gone," Charlie chuckled, knowing how happy that would make Bella.

**It was raining, washing all the traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway. I pulled my hood up, secretly pleased. I would be free to go straight home after Gym.**

**Mike kept up a string of complaints on the way to building four.**

**Once inside the classroom, I saw with relief that my table was still empty. Mr. Banner was walking around the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table. Class didn't start for a few minutes, and the room buzzed with conversation. I kept my eyes away from the door, doodling idly on the cover of my notebook.**

Renee sighed, causing a confused Charlie to look at her in question. She shook her head with a smile, before she answered.

"Bella used to draw all the time, almost as much as she reads. She was so talented, too. I don't know why she stopped."

**I heard very clearly when the chair next to me moved, but my eyes stayed carefully focused on the pattern I was drawing.**

"**Hello," said a quiet, musical voice.**

"Finally, he's talking to her. About time that boy learned some manners," Charlie exclaimed, as Renee hid yet another smile behind the book.

**I looked up, stunned that he was speaking to me.**

**He was sitting as far away from me as the desk allowed, but his chair was angled toward me. His hair was dripping wet, disheveled – even so, he looked like he'd just finished shooting a commercial for hair gel. His dazzling face was friendly, open, a slight smile on his flawless lips. But his eyes were careful.**

"I wonder what he's trying to prove," Charlie stated, off in his own thoughts.

"What do you mean?" Renee was genuinely confused.

"Oh, come on, Renee. That's quite the turn from her first day. I keep going back to that comment she made in the cafeteria, and I can't help thinking that he's trying to prove that he doesn't hate her." Charlie said, exasperatedly.

Renee huffed. "Now, you and I both know that there is no way he heard that conversation. He was all the way across the room, for goodness sake. I think that you, Charlie Swan, are losing your mind." She said, effectively ending that talk, as she picked the book up from her lap and continued reading.

Charlie just rolled his eyes. That woman couldn't even see what was right in front of her.

"**My name is Edward Cullen," he continued. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."**

"Well, at least he's not calling her Isabella," Renee mused, while Charlie wondered why that was.

**My mind was spinning with confusion. Had I made up the whole thing? He was perfectly polite now. I had to speak; he was waiting. But I couldn't think of anything conventional to say.**

"**H-how do you know my name?" I stammered.**

_She's makes a valid point,_ Charlie thought, his eyes narrowed and his attention fully on Renee's quiet voice.

**He laughed a soft, enchanting laugh. "Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive."**

Charlie's chuckle was dark. Obviously, _this_ Edward didn't know his daughter very well. She wouldn't like that comment, at all.

**I grimaced. I knew it was something like that.**

"**No," I persisted stupidly. "I meant, why did you call me Bella?"**

**He seemed confused. "Do you prefer Isabella?"**

"**No, I like Bella," I said. "But I think Charlie – I mean my dad – must call me Isabella behind my back – that's what everyone here seems to know me as," I tried to explain, feeling like an utter moron.**

"Do you?" Renee asked, not understanding if the answer was yes.

But Charlie appeared to be just as baffled. "No, of course not. I call her Bells around the house, why would I change that around others. Besides, the only people I discuss Bella with are Harry and Billy. I'm sure it's just because of the name on her admission forms." He said, annoyed that Bella thought he wouldn't know her well enough, to at least respect her need to go by the shortened version of her name.

She seemed to know him even less than he knew her.

"**Oh." He let it drop. I looked away awkwardly.**

Renee didn't say anything, only paused for a brief second, to think about this. Coupled with the other odd mentions in the book, she was now also beginning to see a connection here. There _did_ seem to be something slightly off about the way the boy reacted to certain things.

**Thankfully, Mr. Banner started class at that moment. I tried to concentrate as he explained the lab we would be doing today. The slides in the box were out of order. Working as lab partners, we had to separate the slides of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they represented and label them accordingly. We weren't supposed to use our books. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had it right.**

"**Get started," he commanded.**

"**Ladies first, partner?" Edward asked. I looked up to see him smiling a crooked smile so beautiful that I could only stare at him like an idiot.**

Charlie winced, he did not need to hear that, while Renee got a faraway look in her eyes. To be young and in love again, she couldn't help but think, as she peered at the first man to take her heart from her.

"**Or I could start, if you wish." The smile faded; he was obviously wondering if I was mentally competent.**

"**No," I said, flushing. "I'll go ahead."**

**I was showing off, just a little. I'd already done this lab, and I knew what I was looking for.**

**It should be easy. I snapped the first slide into place under the microscope and adjusted it quickly to the 40X objective. I studied the slide briefly.**

**My assessment was confident. "Prophase."**

"**Do you mind if I look?" he asked as I began to remove the slide. His hand caught mine, to stop me, as he asked. His fingers were ice-cold, like he'd been holding them in a snowdrift before class.**

Charlie didn't say anything out loud, because he knew that that's exactly what Renee would argue that it was, but then she hadn't shook Edward's hand as often as the Chief. He had always ignored it, but it was impossible to do so now. Even with the chill of Forks weather, no ones hands should be that cold, all the time.

It was like touching an ice sculpture.

**But that wasn't why I jerked my hand away so quickly. When he touched me, it stung my hand as if an electric current had passed through us.**

This time, Charlie's frown was a thoughtful one. He himself had only tried that once, and he looked at the woman in question. He wondered if it had meant the same thing for his daughter, as it had for him?

"**I'm sorry," he muttered, pulling his hand back immediately. However, he still continued to reach for the microscope. I watched him, still staggered, as he examined the slide for an even shorter time than I had.**

"**Prophase," he agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on our worksheet. He swiftly switched out the first slide for the second, and then glanced at it cursorily.**

"**Anaphase," he murmured, writing it down as he spoke.**

**I kept my voice indifferent. "May I?"**

**He smirked and pushed the microscope to me.**

**I looked through the eyepiece eagerly, only to be disappointed. Dang it, he was right.**

Charlie chuckled at the byplay of the two kids. They were obviously both very stubborn and sure of themselves, not to mention anxious to prove the other wrong. Then he frowned, unsure of how much he wanted them to have in common.

"**Slide three?" I held out my hand without looking at him.**

**He handed it to me; it seemed like he was being careful not to touch my skin again.**

**I took the most fleeting look I could manage.**

"Boy, those two are as stubborn as they come," Renee unknowingly voiced Charlie's previous thoughts out loud.

"With Bella it's not such a surprise," Charlie laughed, shaking his head in amusement.

"**Interphase." I passed him the microscope before he could ask for it. He took a swift peek, and then wrote it down. It would have written it while he looked, but his clear, elegant script intimidated me. I didn't want to spoil the page with my clumsy scrawl.**

The frown was back on his face, and even Renee noticed the oddity of a teenage boy having such a neat handwriting. Neither of them pushed the thought away, though they did keep silent, as Renee went back to the page.

**We were finished before anyone else was even close. I could see Mike and his partner comparing two slides again and again, and another group had their book open under the table.**

**Which left me with nothing to do but try to not look at him... unsuccessfully. I glanced up, and he was staring at me, that same inexplicable look of frustration in his eyes.**

"Seriously, what is wrong with this kid?" Charlie said, his anger returning.

Where before, Renee would have been sure it was just because he was interested in getting to know her, now she wasn't sure just what to think. This book better give them both some answers soon, before they lost their minds.

**Suddenly I identified that subtle difference in his face.**

"**Did you get contacts?" I blurted out unthinkingly.**

Charlie's eyes narrowed. So it wasn't just him.

**He seemed puzzled by my unexpected question.**

"**No."**

"**Oh," I mumbled. "I thought there was something different about your eyes."**

**He shrugged, and looked away.**

**In fact, I was sure there was something different. I vividly remembered the flat black color of his eyes the last time he'd glared at me – the color was striking against the background of his pale skin and his auburn hair. Today, his eyes were a completely different color: a strange ocher, darker than butterscotch, but with the same golden tone. I didn't understand how that could be, unless he was lying for some reason about the contacts. Or maybe Forks was making me crazy in the literal sense of the word.**

Hearing his perceptive daughter's vivid and detailed description of the difference in eye color, only served to cement that fact in his mind. It wasn't him alone that had noticed it, although where he had pushed it out of his mind, she had obviously kept it close to the surface. Charlie then wondered if Bella knew why their eyes changed color.

Because there was no doubt in his mind, that the eyes of the rest of the family, worked the exact same way.

**I looked down. His hands were clenched into hard fists again.**

**Mr. Banner came to our table then, to see why we weren't working. He looked over our shoulders to glance at the completed lab, and then stared more intently to check the answers.**

"**So, Edward, didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?" Mr. Banner asked.**

"Is he insinuating that she isn't smart enough to do it without his help?" Charlie bit out, glaring at the book in Renee's hands.

She agreed with him, but did so silently, letting him fume a bit longer, before she continued.

"**Bella," Edward corrected automatically. "Actually, she identified three of the five."**

"Well, at least he's defending her," Charlie wasn't sure how to feel about that.

**Mr. Banner looked at me now; his expression was skeptical.**

"**Have you done this lab before?" he asked.**

**I smiled sheepishly. "Not with onion root."**

"She shouldn't have said that. The man deserves to be taken down a peg or two." Charlie continued to grumble under his breath.

"**Whitefish blastula?"**

"**Yeah."**

**Mr. Banner nodded. "Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?"**

"**Yes."**

"**Well," he said after a moment, "I guess it's good you two are lab partners." He mumbled something else as he walked away. After he left, I began doodling on my notebook again.**

"**It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Edward asked.**

"Now he's making small talk," Charlie frowned, returning to his earlier theory, that the boy was trying to prove something.

This time, Renee didn't deny her ex-husband's words. It was just a little _too_ convenient.

**I had the feeling that he was forcing himself to make small talk with me. Paranoia swept over me again. It was like he had heard my conversation with Jessica at lunch and was trying to prove me wrong.**

"I think you might be right," Renee felt slightly sick, as she suddenly remembered the 'not wholly human' comment from the book's summary.

"**Not really," I answered honestly, instead of pretending to be normal like everyone else.**

**I was still trying to dislodge the stupid feeling of suspicion and I couldn't concentrate.**

"**You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question.**

"**Or the wet."**

"**Forks must be a very difficult place for you to live," he mused.**

"**You have no idea," I muttered darkly.**

**He looked fascinated by what I said, for some reason I couldn't imagine.**

**His face was such a distraction that I tried not to look at it any more than courtesy absolutely demanded.**

"**Why did you come here, then?"**

**No one had asked me that – not straight out like he did, demanding.**

"That boy has no right, demanding anything from her that she doesn't want to give up," Charlie choked out, voice full of anger.

"Oh, but you know she will, Charlie. I have a feeling she has an even harder time than usual, lying, where this boy is involved." Renee sighed, worried, but not enough to ignore the romance of the situation.

"**It's... complicated."**

"**I think I can keep up," he pressed.**

**I paused for a long moment, and then made the mistake of meeting his gaze. His dark gold eyes confused me, and I answered without thinking.**

"**My mother got remarried," I said.**

"**That doesn't sound so complex," he disagreed, but he was suddenly sympathetic.**

"**When did that happen?"**

"**Last September." My voice sounded sad, even to me.**

"**And you don't like him," Edward surmised, his tone still kind.**

"**No, Phil is fine. Too young, maybe, but nice enough.**

Renee smiled at her daughter's words, it wasn't anything Bella hadn't already told her before, when Renee had asked how the girl felt about the man she was about to marry. Still, the mention of her husband, who was away in another state, made her feel guilty for the things she had been trying so hard not to think of, ever since they started reading the book.

It was becoming more and more difficult for her to ignore the fact that she was seeing her ex in a completely new light.

"**Why didn't you stay with them?"**

**I couldn't fathom his interest, but he continued to stare at me with penetrating eyes, as if my dull life's story was somehow vitally important.**

"**Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living." I half-smiled.**

One of his more redeeming qualities, Charlie thought with a small smile. The age difference had irked him as well, making him forget completely that he himself was eight years older than Renee, where Phil was eight years younger.

"**Have I heard of him?" he asked, smiling in response.**

"**Probably not. He doesn't play well. Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot."**

"**And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him." He said it as an assumption again, not a question.**

Renee frowned. "I wouldn't do that," she may not win an award for mother of the year, but she would make herself unhappy any day, if it meant putting Bella first.

**My chin raised a fraction. "No, she did not sent me here. I sent myself."**

**His eyebrows knit together. "I don't understand," he admitted, and he seemed unnecessarily frustrated by that fact.**

**I sighed. Why was I explaining this to him? He continued to stare at me with obvious curiosity.**

"**She stayed with me at first, but she missed him. It made her unhappy... so I decided it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie." My voice was glum by the time I finished.**

While he wasn't too pleased with her reasons for coming here, he couldn't deny the joy he had felt, since the moment she called to announce her decision. Even if she ended up meeting the boy responsible for her current emotional state.

Renee was just wondering when she had stopped feeling so enamored by her relationship with Phil. Was her daughter right? Was she really that fickle? Had the spark already gone out of her marriage, she wondered with a frown, refusing to look in Charlie's direction.

She had to come to a decision without outside interference.

"**But now you're unhappy," he pointed out.**

"**And?" I challenged.**

Charlie shook his head, it was such a typical Bella reply. Sometimes her selflessness baffled even him, though it never surprised him. He at least knew his daughter that well.

"**That doesn't seem fair." He shrugged, but his eyes were still intense.**

**I laughed without humor. "Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair."**

"**I believe I have heard that somewhere before," he agreed dryly.**

"In many ways, Edward is just as much an old soul as Bella. And here I thought she was unique," Renee said with a smile.

Charlie, however, kept going back to that Legend he barely remembered from his childhood. _Weren't there something about Cold Ones?_

"**So that's all," I insisted, wondering why he was still staring at me that way.**

**His gaze became appraising. "You put on a good show," he said slowly. "But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see."**

Charlie wanted to comment on how that wasn't any of his business, but at the same time he was grateful that someone in that school was finally noticing how miserable Bella was. He hated to see her unhappy.

**I grimaced at him, resisting the impulse to stick out my tongue like a five-year-old, and looked away.**

Renee chuckled, still somewhat mildly surprised by how childish Bella could be. Like the teenager she had never acted as before.

"**Am I wrong?"**

**I tried to ignore him.**

"**I didn't think so," he murmured smugly.**

"**Why does it matter to you?" I asked, irritated.**

"Good question," Charlie added glumly, more annoyed by the glaring reason, that he was sure he already knew.

**I kept my eyes away, watching the teacher make his rounds.**

"**That's a very good question," he muttered, so quietly that I wondered if he was talking to himself. However, after a few seconds of silence, I decided that was the only answer I was going to get.**

**I sighed, scowling at the blackboard.**

"**Am I annoying you?" he asked. He sounded amused.**

"This boy has more moodswings than a pregnant woman!" Charlie exclaimed and then winced when Renee glared at him.

**I glanced at him without thinking... and told the truth again.**

"**Not exactly. I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read – my mother always calls me her open book." I frowned.**

"**On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read." Despite everything that I'd said and he'd guessed, he sounded like he meant it.**

"**You must be a good reader then," I replied.**

"Eh, is she being sarcastic again," Charlie's eyebrows furrowed and Renee gestured at him to elaborate. "She's just confusing. She says she's easy to read and yet, when he says he can't read her, she claims that he must be a good reader. Wouldn't that make him a bad reader?" He said, now seemingly confusing himself, though Renee got the gist of what he meant.

And agreed with him.

"**Usually." He smiled widely, flashing a set of perfect, ultrawhite teeth.**

**Mr. Banner called the class to order then, and I turned with relief to listen. I was in disbelief that I'd just explained my dreary life to this bizarre, beautiful boy who may or may not despise me. He'd seemed engrossed in our conversation, but now I could see, from the corner of my eye, that he was leaning away from me again, his hands gripping the edge of the table with unmistakable tension.**

"And he's back to the odd behavior," Charlie sighed, hoping to get an answer soon.

**I tried to appear attentive as Mr. Banner illustrated, with transparencies on the overhead projector, what I had seen without difficulty through the microscope. But my thoughts were unmanageable.**

**When the bell finally rang, Edward rushed as swiftly and as gracefully from the room as he had last Monday. And, like last Monday, I stared after him in amazement.**

**Mike skipped quickly to my side and picked up my books for me. I imagined him with a wagging tail.**

At that, Charlie burst out laughing, while Renee helplessly tried to control her own giggles.

"Now, there's an image for you to drag up, whenever he's getting too close," Renee offered her ex-husband.

Silently, Charlie agreed wholeheartedly with her words. That would definitely serve to lessen his annoyance, especially since it told him how little interest his little girl had in that particular boy. And really, any boy that wasn't Edward.

"**That was awful," he groaned. "They all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner."**

"**I didn't have any trouble with it," I said, stung by his assumption.**

"What is it with the people of this town," Charlie grumbled. Of course his daughter was smart.

**I regretted the snub instantly. "I've done this lab before, though," I added before he could get his feelings hurt.**

"She needs to stop doing that, it'll only encourage them to take her for granted," Charlie frowned.

"**Cullen seemed friendly enough today," he commented as we shrugged into our raincoats. He didn't seem pleased about it.**

**I tried to sound indifferent. "I wonder what was with him last Monday."**

**I couldn't concentrate on Mike's chatter as we walked to Gym, and he didn't do much to hold my attention, either. Mike was on my team today. He chivalrously covered my position as well as his own, so my woolgathering was only interrupted when it was my turn to serve; my team ducked warily out of the way every time I was up.**

"They're starting to learn," Renee chuckled, remembering the phone call she had gotten a few years ago, from Bella's Gym Coach in Phoenix. He had made it very clear, that in all of his years as a teacher, he'd never met anyone as prone to life threatening clumsiness as her daughter.

**The rain was just a mist as I walked to the parking lot, but I was happier when I was in the dry cab. I got the heater running, for once not caring about the mind-numbing roar of the engine. I unzipped my jacket, put the hood down, and fluffed my damp hair out so the heater could dry it on the way home.**

**I looked around me to make sure it was clear. That's when I noticed the still, white figure. Edward Cullen was leaning against the front door of the Volvo, three cars down from me, and staring intently in my direction.**

**I swiftly looked away and threw the truck into reverse, almost hitting a rusty Toyota Corolla in my haste.**

Charlie snorted, not the least bit worried. He knew who would come out of that collision, unscathed.

**Lucky for the Toyota, I stomped on the brake in time. It was just the sort of car that my truck would make scrap metal of. I took a deep breath, still looking out the other side of my car, and cautiously pulled out again, with greater success. I stared straight ahead as I passed the Volvo, but from a peripheral peek, I would swear I saw him laughing.**

"And that's that," Renee said, as she placed the book back down on the table, sighing.

"Well," Charlie said, glancing at the clock, "it's almost noon, so why don't we get some lunch and then we can continue."

Renee nodded and the two ventured into the kitchen to make a couple of sandwiches.

However, before they could return to the living room, there was a knock on the door.

* * *

**Authors Note:** And there you have it, folks. Who is the mystery visitor? Is it just someone normal coming by to say hello, like Billy or...? You guss, and we'll see who's right :D

I'm almost halfway through _Phenomenon_ and, those of you that have written or read these type of stories before, know that they are quicker written than others, because most of it already exists. Hopefully I'll be updating in a couple of days :)

Ta,


	4. Phenomenon

**Authors Note:** Okay, so my update wasn't as quick as I had thought. A few days my ass :P Sorry about that. Hopefully it won't be another eight months until I post the next chapter, so cross your fingers :)

First, before you move on to the actual story, let me just say this. I wanna thank **yapook** for her PM to me, which is what inspired me to finish the chapter, for the sake of my readers. I read the PM only two hours ago and now I'm posting the finished result. So thank you and the rest of you should thank **yapook** too :D

Now, onto the part where I answer some questions, brought up in the reviews:

**hannibal221;** First off, yes, Charlie and Sue had something, but, thanks to reading the books, a lot of things will change. I'm not sure where I'm going with Charlie and Renee yet, maybe nothing will come of it, I just wanted to keep my options open. And no, your guess for the surprise visitor is not right :)

I'm disappointed that no one managed to even come close to guessing the visitor(s), but then again I already knew, so of course it was obvious to me :P I hope you don't mind bringing in an extra reader, but don't worry, until New Moon comes, no more will join, only these three.

Hope you enjoy it and that you pray for me to not have another bout of writer's block xD

* * *

Phenomenon

* * *

Renee passed by through the hallway, taking her seat on the couch once more, as Charlie opened the door on a frantic Sue and a glum looking Leah. Silently inviting them in, he offered Sue a cup of coffee, which she took with shaky hands.

"Is everything alright, Sue?" Charlie asked, worry coating his voice.

Renee, hearing this, joined the others in the kitchen, where she ignored the slight widening of Sue's eyes, as she sat down across from her. Charlie was perched beside the sad woman, while her oldest child stood against the counter, arms crossed and a sullen look on her usually beautiful features.

"Hello, Renee," Sue smiled slightly, as she shook off her shock. "No, Charlie," she sighed, turning to her friend, "everything is not alright. Harry's sick."

"What?" Charlie exclaimed. Harry had been his friend for as many years as Billy and the two were almost as close, as well. They were a lot more than just fishing buddies.

"Yeah," she nodded, a single tear falling down her cheek. "Normally, I wouldn't have bothered you with this, until we knew more, but... when I heard that you had taken some vacation time, I decided to come here. You see, we need to go to a doctor in Florida, who is supposed to be one of the best."

"Tell me, Sue," Charlie's voice was gentle, but stressed.

"It's his heart," her eyes were so sad that Renee had to look away. "Anyway, we don't want Seth to miss school, but I don't want him and Leah to stay home alone. I know this is a lot to ask of, especially with..." She didn't continue her sentence, but Bella's condition was no secret. "Could they stay here, at least for a week or so?" She practically pleaded her friend.

"Mom," Leah interrupted, before Charlie could answer. "This isn't necessary, I told you. I can take care of Seth. I'm nineteen, for crying out loud, not twelve." She rolled her eyes, but Charlie saw clearly the sadness in her black orbs.

Sue ignored her daughter, keeping her eyes on Charlie, who seemed to be considering this. He knew that he would be busy in the next many days, reading the books and trying to figure out how to help his own child. But he could never turn his back on his friends, they were like family. He had watched the Clearwater kids grow up, more than he had his own daughter.

To him, the answer was simple, but it still didn't help him with his dilemma. Seth, like Bella, would be in school all day, but Leah hadn't gone off to college when she graduated and she didn't have a job. And Charlie knew just how little friends the poor girl had.

The thing that did it for him, was the memory of why Leah had become so angry. If anyone could help Bella through her heartache, surely it was someone who had gone through something similar, right?

And no one knew better than Leah Clearwater.

"Of course they can stay here. I'll have to see about getting a few mattrasses into the old room at the back of the house, but I'm sure I can find room for both of them." Charlie had no doubt that, in the end, Leah would listen to her mother and do what she said.

If only for Sue's peace of mind.

"Oh, thank you, Charlie. You have no idea how much this means to me," she gushed, squeezing his hand over the table top.

"It's no problem," he stammered out, blushing at the attention.

Leah rolled her eyes again, but kept silent. As much as she didn't want to be considered a child, who needed a babysitter, she also didn't want to upset her parents. They already had too much on their minds and she didn't want to distract them, while they were gone.

Renee herself was in deep thought, as she left the small kitchen and crouched beside her luggage in the entry of the living room. Sue had been one of the few friends she had made, back when she still lived here, along with Sarah Black, and she wanted to help in any way she could. Finding what she was looking for, she took in a deep breath, and returned to the kitchen, holding the object out for Sue to take.

"What?" Sue said, looking at her old friend in question, as she dangled a bundle of keys in front of her.

"I live in Jacksonville now, Sue. I don't want you and Harry to waste any money on a hotel, so I want you to stay at my house. My husband is still traveling, so you will have it to yourselves," she said, in a soft, sympathetic voice.

"Oh, Renee, I couldn't possibly..." but Renee just shook her head with a small smile.

"Of course you can. I remember how good you and Harry were to me, when I lived here. We can call this my thank you, for all of those times you babysat Bella, when she was still an infant." Her smile was a bit bigger now, thinking of those days.

Sue sighed. "Well, when you put it that way.." she said, with a wry grin, some of the sadness gone, at least for the moment.

Renee grabbed the block by the phone and jotted down her address, along with some instructions on how to get there from the airport. She mentally reminded herself to call Phil and tell him, just in case he came home early and wouldn't be surprised by their presence.

Charlie left the two women alone, as Renee began to explain that the second key on the chain was for her car, which they were free to use to get to and from the hospital. He perched himself in his easy chair, closing his eyes and trying to relax. He'd been going through a rough time as it was, with everything Bella was going through, and now this...

He couldn't imagine losing Harry, he just couldn't.

It was too horrible.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" He heard a quiet voice, whispering from his right.

He sighed in response. "I hope so," he answered honestly, looking at the young woman sitting on the couch.

Leah just nodded, thankful to her second-father, for telling the truth. She was getting so sick of the false cheerful atmosphere around her home, ever since her father had been diagnosed, two weeks ago. She was trying her best to stay strong, for Seth, but it was difficult. She already had so much to deal with and now there was this, too.

At least the family had decided not to tell everyone yet. She wasn't sure how she'd handle it, if Sam or Emily (or both) came around, with pity in their eyes.

"What about you, Leah? How are you holding up?" She knew he wasn't just talking about her dad.

"I don't know, not well I think. People keep saying that it's gonna take time, but it's already been a year. Maybe it'll never get better," she sighed the last part. She had never been able to lie to Charlie, and it wasn't just because he was a cop.

"I know how you feel," Charlie whispered, glancing in the direction of the kitchen and Leah realized that he really did understand. The whole town knew how much he still loved Renee, even if he refused to talk about it.

Two hours later there were two, tiny beds pushed against a wall each, in the small, usually empty, room, just before you reached the back door. Seth had come by too, with a few bags of clothes and other belongings, along with the return of Sue and Leah, who had gone back to pack for the latter.

Not long after the two kids had gotten somewhat settled, Sue announced that it was time for her to leave, since Harry and her had a flight to catch. She gave each of her children a tight hug, trying to blink back her tears, thanked Renee for her kind words and her wonderful offer, told Charlie to say hi to Bella for her and then she was out the door.

The other four were left standing in the tiny hallway, not knowing what to do with themselves.

"Are you guys hungry?" Charlie asked, not knowing what else to say, but knew that him and Renee had never actually gotten to eat their sandwiches.

They only nodded in reply and the foursome made their way into the kitchen, where Renee silently prepared some food for the two solemn teenagers, as well. There wasn't much talk going on, as Renee scurried around the somewhat familiar room, finding plates and glasses for the two newcomers.

Charlie told them that they could go eat in the living room, if they wanted, and Seth was quick to take him up on his offer, while his sister simply followed behind slowly, and silently. Charlie let out a sigh, when they were gone, as Renee sat down across from him, handing him his own sandwich and getting started on her own.

They heard the TV click on and relaxed a little, hoping that the tension in the house wouldn't last the whole time they were here. Once again, Charlie wondered if his daughter would even notice the change, from when she left this morning, to when she returns in a couple of hours.

Unfortunately, he was sure the answer was no. And even if she did notice, he was sure she wouldn't outwardly register it.

Unbeknownst to the two adults in the kitchen, Leah had never been an avid TV fan. Bored with the sitcom her brother had stopped on, she noticed the four books on the table, intrigued by their covers. She had always enjoyed reading, almost as much as Bella. She picked up the one on the top, mentally reading _Twilight_ in her mind.

She lifted a curious eyebrow and turned it around, to read the summary.

Her first thought was that Renee was a writer, but common knowledge disputed that. Renee was a school teacher, she remembered her mother saying once. And Charlie certainly wasn't a man of many words. Had Bella written this? But no, that didn't seem possible either.

She flipped the book open to one of the first pages, reading a few words about Bella's description of the room upstairs. She couldn't get over the strange feeling she was getting, from this entire experience. What was the deal with this book? And then she realized something that her mother must have been too preoccupied to bring up earlier. Why was Renee in town?

Sure, it could easily have been about Bella and her current depression, which Leah tried not to think too much about, considering how close to home it hit, but something told her it was more than that. Both Renee and Charlie had seemed so distracted since her and her mother had shown up, two hours ago. Like something big had happened, something they couldn't explain.

She picked up the next book in the pile, called _New Moon_, and read the summary for this one as well.

_For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella could ever have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning..._

Suddenly Leah's mind was whirling with the Legends she knew by heart. As a child they had been her biggest infatuation. She remembered clearly how annoyed she was that she was a girl, because she wanted so much to grow up to be a wolf, so she could be a Protector of her people.

Could all of that really be true?

And if the Legend of the Cold Ones were, what did that say about all the others? The Third Wife, which had always brought tears to her eyes, or, of course, the part where the Quileutes are descended from actual wolves? And how much of the truth, did her father and mother know? Billy, who had always been vehemently against the Cullen family?

She knew she had to read these books.

Glancing at her little brother, it was obvious that Seth was so hooked on his show, that he hadn't noticed anything. She carefully took the books in her hands and walked to the doorway, where she deposited three of them in the corner and brought the last one, _Twilight_, with her into the kitchen.

Charlie looked up when she entered and, seeing the serious look on her face, furrowed his brows. He felt a pinch on his arm and turned to Renee, who pointed at something in Leah's hands. His eyes widened when he saw what she was holding and suddenly he realized what that look in her eyes was.

It was fear, mixed with wonder, and finally, determination.

He sighed, there was no getting around this. Leah would have to join them in reading the books. He just didn't have the strength to argue with her. Besides, his mind had kept coming back to the Tribe Legends, so maybe she could help shed some light on his theories, as she had heard the stories more times than he had.

"If you can get your brother away from the living room, then you can read it with us," Renee answered for him, having come to almost the came conclusion as Charlie, just without the Legends part.

Leah gave a determined nod, put the book down and returned to the room.

Ten minutes later, the three of them were sitting in the living room, the women on the couch and Charlie in his chair, the book back in Leah's hands. Seth was upstairs in Charlie's room, doing his homework and grumbling to himself about forceful sisters. Thanks to his teenage genes, he had music blasting somewhat loudly, effectively drowning out the voices that would soon be coming from downstairs.

With a sigh, Leah opened the book to the third chapter. Renee and Charlie had quickly summarized what they had read so far, which wasn't much. Something about Bella hating Forks, meeting Edward for the first time, his violent reaction to her which Leah thought she might know the reason behind and the confusing conversation on the day he came back to school.

Now, as she read the chapter title, **Phenomenon**, out loud, she wondered if this was really something she wanted to be a part of.

Yes, a voice resounded in her head, it was.

**When I opened my eyes in the morning, something was different.**

**It was the light. It was still the gray-green light of a cloudy day in the forest, but it was clearer somehow. I realized there was no fog veiling my window.**

**I jumped up to look outside, and then groaned in horror.**

**A fine layer of snow covered the yard, dusted the top of my truck, and whitened the road.**

"She doesn't like snow?" Leah asked, her nose twitching at that odd thought.

Charlie chuckled. "Remember that she didn't grow up here, like you did. She hadn't even seen snow, until the day before that," he said, pointing to the book.

She shrugged off the strangeness of that statement and went back to the book.

**But that wasn't the worst part. All the rain from yesterday had frozen solid – coating the needles on the trees in fantastic, gorgeous patterns, and making the driveway a deadly ice slick. I had enough trouble not falling down when the ground was dry; it might be safer for me to go back to bed now.**

Charlie grimaced, suddenly remembering exactly what had happened that day. Yes, it would have been safer.

**Charlie had left for work before I got downstairs. In a lot of ways, living with Charlie was like having my own place, and I found myself reveling in the aloneness instead of being lonely.**

Leah rolled her eyes at the oddity of their relationship. Bella sounded a lot like Charlie, she noted.

**I threw down a quick bowl of cereal and some orange juice from the carton. I felt excited to go to school, and that scared me.**

**I knew it wasn't the stimulating learning environment I was anticipating, or seeing my new set of friends. If I was being honest with myself, I knew I was eager to get to school because I would see Edward Cullen. And that was very, very stupid.**

Charlie and Leah shuddered at that, but only the girl knew why it was not only stupid, but unbelievable dangerous. She didn't even realize how she had suddenly decided to believe in the Legends of her tribe.

**I should be avoiding him entirely after my brainless and embarrassing babbling yesterday. And I was suspicious of him; why should he lie about his eyes? I was still frightened of the hostility I sometimes felt emanating from him, and I was still tongue-tied whenever I pictured his perfect face. I was well aware that my league and his league were spheres that did not touch.**

Charlie snorted. "Yeah, you're right. No one's good enough for you," he said, ignoring the giggle of his ex and rolling eyes of Leah.

**So I shouldn't be at all anxious to see him today.**

**It took every ounce of my concentration to make it down the icy brick driveway alive. I almost lost my balance when I finally got to the truck, but I managed to cling to the side mirror and save myself. Clearly, today was going to be nightmarish.**

Leah joined the other two in the laughter. Though she herself had never witnessed the clumsiness of the girl, she had heard enough stories, to recognize the signs. It seemed that Bella was well aware of her boundaries and wasn't happy about having to cross them.

**Driving to school, I distracted myself from my fear of falling and my unwanted speculations about Edward Cullen by thinking about Mike and Eric, and the obvious difference in how teenage boys responded to me here. I was sure I looked exactly the same as I had in Phoenix. Maybe it was just that the boys back home had watched me pass slowly through all the awkward phases of adolescence and still thought of me that way.**

"I doubt it," Leah said, more well-versed in the minds of teenage boys, thanks to her brother and ex. "It's probably because she's the new kid." She snorted, ignoring Charlie's defiant look.

Maybe it was because his daughter was beautiful, but he didn't say anything, as he didn't have an explanation for why they hadn't noticed her before.

**Perhaps it was because I was a novelty here, where novelties were few and far between. Possibly my crippling clumsiness was seen as endearing rather than pathetic, casting me as the damsel in distress. Whatever the reason, Mike's puppy dog behavior and Eric's apparent rivalry with him were disconcerting. I wasn't sure if I didn't prefer being ignored.**

"Hmm, I guess that could be it, too," Leah mused, wondering why Bella was so quick to shy away from the attention.

Even though she'd had Sam throughout all four years of High School, she was still endlessly flattered by the attention of the other boys. It made her feel beautiful, wanted.

Who wouldn't want that?

**My truck seemed to have no problem with the black ice that covered the roads. I drove very slowly, though, not wanting to carve a path of destruction through Main Street.**

They all chuckled at this, trying to picture the concentrated look on her face as she inched down the road in her monster of a truck.

**When I got our of my truck at school, I saw why I'd had so little trouble. Something silver caught my eye, and I walked to the back of the truck – carefully holding the side for support – to examine my tires.**

**There were thin chains crisscrossed in diamond shapes around them. Charlie had gotten up who knows how early to put snow chains on my truck. My throat suddenly felt tight. I wasn't used to being taken care of, and Charlie's unspoken concern caught me by surprise.**

While Charlie was fidgeting at the emotional thoughts of his daughter, Renee was frowning at Bella's statement that she wasn't used to being taken care of. With every word she heard, she became more and more convinced of how horrible a job she had done as a mother. How could she ever dare ask for forgiveness?

**I was standing by the back corner of the truck, struggling to fight back the sudden wave of emotion the snow chains had brought on, when I heard an odd sound. It was a high-pitched screech, and it was fast becoming painfully loud. I looked up, startled.**

"Oh, no, is it now, Charlie?" Renee gasped, and he simply nodded.

"Is what now?" Leah was confused.

"You'll see," Charlie just said, gesturing to the book.

**I saw several things simultaneously. Nothing was moving in slow motion, the way it does in the movies. Instead, the adrenaline rush seemed to make my brain work much faster, and I was able to absorb in clear detail several things at once.**

**Edward Cullen was standing four cars down from me, staring at me in horror.**

"Wait, I thought you said he was standing next to her, and that he pulled her out of the way?" Renee said, confused.

Charlie simply shrugged his shoulders, as much out of the loop as she was at the moment and anxious to find out what the hell was going on.

**His face stood out from a sea of faces, all frozen in the same mask of shock. But of more immediate importance was the dark blue van that was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, spinning wildly across the ice of the parking lot. It was going to hit the back corner of my truck, and I was standing between them. I didn't even have time to close my eyes.**

"Oh, god," Leah exclaimed, having never heard of this particular event, too immersed in her own sorrow at the time.

**Just before I heard the shattering crunch of the van folding around the truck bed, something hit me, hard, but not from the direction I was expecting.**

**My head cracked against the icy blacktop, and I felt something solid and cold pinning me to the ground. I was lying on the pavement behind the tan car I'd parked next to. But I didn't have a chance to notice anything else, because the van was still coming. It had curled gratingly around the end of the truck and, still spinning and sliding, was about to collide with me again.**

"This girl has the worst luck," Leah muttered, while the two parents took on darkened looks.

They had always gotten a kick out of their daughter's clumsy nature, but it didn't seem so humorous now.

**A low oath made me aware that someone was with me, and the voice was impossible not to recognize.**

"That's not possible." Renee breathed, realizing who her daughter meant.

**Two long, white hands shot out protectively in front of me, and the van shuddered to a stop a foot from my face, the large hands fitting providentially into a deep dent in the side of the van's body.**

There was complete silence in the room, as all three of the participants held their breaths.

Leah was busily thinking about those Legends she had scoffed at in the past, Charlie was doing the same while also remembering that day in his head, while Renee just stared wide-eyed at the book in Leah's hands.

**Then his hands moved so fast they blurred. One was suddenly gripping under the body of the van, and something was dragging me, swinging my legs around like a ragdoll's, till they hit the tire of the tan car. A groaning metallic thud hurt my ears, and the van settled, glass popping, onto the asphalt – exactly where, a second ago, my legs had been.**

"He saved her life," Leah barely whispered, lost in her own memories of the supposed 'evil' Cold Ones.

How could they be what they were portrayed in the tales, when it had obviously been Edward's instinct to save Bella?

**It was absolutely silent for one long second before the screaming began. In the abrupt bedlam, I could hear more than one person shouting my name. But more clearly than all the yelling, I could hear Edward Cullen's low, frantic voice in my ear.**

"**Bella? Are you all right?"**

"**I'm fine." My voice sounded strange. I tried to sit up, and realized he was holding me against the side of his body in an iron grasp.**

"**Be careful," he warned as I struggled. "I think you hit your head pretty hard."**

**I became aware of a throbbing ache centered above my left ear.**

"**Ow," I said, surprised.**

Charlie stifled the need to chuckle at his daughter's reaction, realizing the seriousness of the current situation.

"**That's what I thought." His voice, amazingly, sounded like he was suppressing laughter.**

"**How in the..." I trailed off, trying to clear my head, get my bearings. "How did you get over here so fast?"**

"Good question," Renee frowned, officially suspicious now.

"**I was standing right next to you, Bella," he said, his tone serious again.**

**I turned to sit up, and this time he let me, releasing his hold around my waist and sliding as far from me as he could in the limited space. I looked at his concerned, innocent expression and was disoriented again by the force of his gold-colored eyes.**

**What was I asking him?**

This time all three of them laughed, seeing that the danger was over now. Even if the mystery of how, was still left unsolved. For now.

"He has quite the effect on her," Renee grinned, back to the romance of the moment.

**And then they found us, a crowd of people with tears streaming down their faces, shouting at each other, shouting at us.**

"**Don't move," someone instructed.**

"**Get Tyler out of the van!" someone else shouted.**

**There was a flurry of activity around us. I tried to get up, but Edward's cold hand pushed my shoulder down.**

"**Just stay put for now."**

"**But it's cold," I complained.**

"Wow, she has the weirdest reactions," Leah was becoming more and more intrigued by this girl, who had always seemed boring to her in the past.

"Yeah, that's Bells for you," Charlie chuckled, though it was tainted by the dark suspicion in his brown eyes.

**It surprised me when he chuckled under his breath. There was an edge to the sound.**

"**You were over there," I suddenly remembered, and his chuckle stopped short. "You were by your car."**

**His expression turned hard. "No, I wasn't."**

Charlie rolled his eyes. "He lies about as well as Bella, no wonder the two were a match."

"**I saw you." All around us was chaos. I could hear the gruffer voices of adults arriving on the scene. But I obstinately held on to our argument; I was right, and he was going to admit it.**

"Always so stubborn," Renee sighed, silently rejoicing in that fact, as it might help solve this particular mystery.

"**Bella, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way." He unleashed the full, devastating power of his eyes on me, as if trying to communicate something crucial.**

"**No." I set my jaw.**

**The gold in his eyes blazed. "Please, Bella."**

"**Why?" I demanded.**

"**Trust me," he pleaded, his soft voice overwhelming.**

**I could hear the sirens now. "Will you promise to explain everything to me later?"**

"**Fine," he snapped, abruptly exasperated.**

"**Fine," I repeated angrily.**

"Why is he being so short with her?" Renee whimpered, while Charlie just glared at the book with immense anger.

Leah knew better than to speak up, but felt that maybe she understood the Cullen boy's reaction. She was beginning to see the resemblance to her people's old Legends and it was obvious that his secret wasn't his alone. Thus it wasn't his to tell to someone else, without his family's acceptance.

She could agree with that, though she admitted that he could've handled the situation better.

He was quite obviously very frustrated.

**It took six EMTs and two teachers – Mr. Varner and Coach Clapp – to shift the van far enough away from us to bring the stretchers in. Edward vehemently refused his, and I tried to do the same, but the traitor told them I'd hit my head and probably had a concussion.**

Charlie frowned. "He did the right thing. Bella's always been so stubborn and doesn't want to seem weak, but she could've been seriously hurt."

Renee and Leah simply nodded their agreement, returning to the book.

**I almost died of humiliation when they put on the neck brace. It looked like the entire school was there, watching soberly as they loaded me in the back of the ambulance. Edward got to ride in the front. It was maddening.**

**To make matters worse, Chief Swan arrived before they could get me safely away.**

"Wait, did she just call me Chief Swan in her head?" Charlie frowned, at least he didn't mind it when it was his name, but his title?

"It must just be her way of separating you from your dad role," Renee soothed, patting his hand.

Leah purposely kept her attention away from the very strange, yet endearing scene.

"I suppose," he grumbled, leaving it at that.

"**Bella!" he yelled in panic when he recognized me on the stretcher.**

"**I'm completely fine, Char-Dad," I sighed. "There's nothing wrong with me."**

**He turned to the closest EMT for a second opinion. I tuned him out to consider the jumble of inexplicable images churning chaotically in my head. When they'd lifted me away from the car, I had seen the deep dent in the tan car's bumper – a very distinct dent that fit the contours of Edward's shoulders... as if he had braced himself against the car with enough force to damage the metal frame...**

Charlie swallowed heavily, brought back to the 'not wholly human' comment, again and again. And there was something else, tickling at the back of his mind. Something about those Legends, he'd been told of as a boy, around the bonfire on First Beach.

And then there was the obvious fact of the Quileutes disdain for the good doctor and his family.

Was there a connection there and he just couldn't see it?

**And then there was his family, looking on from the distance, with expressions that ranged from disapproval to fury, but held no hint of concern for their brother's safety.**

"What is wrong with them?" Charlie nearly shouted. It was easier for him to be on Edward's side, when he'd just read the details of how he'd saved his daughter's life.

"Remember the secret, Charlie," Leah tried to explain her theory. "They must know something that we don't, otherwise I'm sure they'd be concerned. It doesn't exactly seem like a car could damage their brother anyway," she mumbled, but not too low for the other two to hear.

Renee was beginning to slowly come around, to her ex-husband's way of thinking.

And it terrified her.

**I tried to think of a logical solution that could explain what I had just seen – a solution that excluded the assumption that I was insane.**

**Naturally, the ambulance got a police escort to the county hospital. I felt ridiculous the while time they were unloading me. What made it worse was that Edward simply glided through the hospital doors under his own power. I ground my teeth together.**

Through the tense air of the room, a chuckle cut through. Charlie would never cease to be amazed by his daughter's sarcasm, even in seemingly serious atmospheres.

**They put me in the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds separated by pastel-patterned curtains. A nurse put a pressure cuff on my arm and a thermometer under my tongue. Since no one bothered pulling the curtain around to give me some privacy, I decided I wasn't obligated to wear the stupid-looking neck brace anymore.**

**When the nurse walked away, I quickly unfastened the Velcro and threw it under the bed.**

"Somehow, I don't think that's a smart move," Leah deadpanned, shaking her head in amusement.

This girl was more interesting than she had ever imagined.

She couldn't blame the Cullen kid for wanting to get inside her head. It was a fascinating ride.

**There was another flurry of hospital personnel, another stretcher brought to the bed next to me. I recognized Tyler Crowley from my Government class beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around his head. Tyler looked a hundred times worse than I felt. But he was staring anxiously at me.**

"**Bella, I'm so sorry!"**

"As he should be." Charlie nearly growled, he still hadn't forgiven that boy for his reckless behavior, that could've cost him his little girl.

And now, knowing just how close she had actually been to something much more serious, than what Edward's interference had done, his anger only grew.

The boy should have his license revoked.

"**I'm fine, Tyler – you look awful, are you all right?" As we spoke, nurses began unwinding his soiled bandages, exposing a myriad of shallow slices all over his forehead and left cheek.**

**He ignored me. "I thought I was going to kill you! I was going too fast, and I hit the ice wrong..." He winced as one nurse stated dabbing at his face.**

"**Don't worry about it; you missed me."**

"She shouldn't be so quick to forgive people," Charlie grumbled.

Leah silently agreed with him, mostly because she was convinced that Bella had just earned herself another admirer.

"**How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, and then you were gone..."**

"**Umm... Edward pulled me out of the way."**

**He looked confused. "Who?"**

"**Edward Cullen – he was standing next to me." I'd always been a terrible liar; I didn't sound convincing at all.**

"**Cullen? I didn't see him... wow, it was all so fast, I guess. Is he okay?"**

"**I think so. He's here somewhere, but they didn't make him use a stretcher."**

"She's really annoyed with him, isn't she?" Leah asked, disbelieving.

"Well, she's never been very comfortable in the spotlight, and since she sees it as his fault for being there now..." Renee drifted off, as Leah's face lit up with understanding.

"Ah, got ya," she chuckled.

**I knew I wasn't crazy. What had happened? There was no way to explain away what I'd seen.**

**They wheeled me away then, to X-ray my head. I told them there was nothing wrong, and I was right. Not even a concussion.**

**I asked if I could leave, but the nurse said I had to talk to a doctor first. So I was trapped in the ER, waiting, harassed by Tyler's constant apologies and promises to make it up to me. No matter how many time I tried to convince him I was fine, he continued to torment himself. Finally, I closed my eyes and ignored him. He kept up a remorseful mumbling.**

"**Is she sleeping?" a musical voice asked. My eyes flew open.**

**Edward was standing at the foot of my bed, smirking. I glared at him. It wasn't easy – it would have been more natural to ogle.**

Charlie winced. That wasn't exactly the sort of thoughts he wanted to hear from his daughter.

"**Hey, Edward, I'm really sorry -" Tyler began.**

**Edward lifted a hand to stop him.**

"**No blood, no foul," he said, flashing his brilliant teeth.**

Leah shivered, though she couldn't put her finger on why. Unknowingly her instincts, the ones passed down through generations of shapeshifters, were acting up at the vampire's behavior.

**He moved to sit on the edge of Tyler's bed, facing me. He smirked again.**

"**So, what's the verdict?" he asked me.**

"**There's nothing wrong with me at all, but they wont let me go," I complained. "How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?"**

"**It's all about who you know," he answered. "But don't worry, I came to spring you."**

**Then a doctor walked around the corner, and my mouth fell open.**

"That would be Dr. Cullen," Charlie chuckled, when Leah looked up at him in question.

"Oh,"

**He was young, he was blond... and he was handsomer than any movie star I'd ever seen. He was pale, though, and tired-looking, with circles under his eyes. From Charlie's description, this had to be Edward's father.**

"**So, Miss Swan," Dr. Cullen said in a remarkably appealing voice, "how are you feeling?"**

"**I'm fine," I said, for the last time, I hoped.**

"Probably not," Renee sighed, knowing her daughters history with the emergency room.

**He walked to the light-board on the wall over my head, and turned it on.**

"**Your X-rays look good," he said. "Does your head hurt? Edward said you hit it pretty hard."**

"**It's fine," I repeated with a sigh, throwing a quick scowl toward Edward.**

"He did the right thing, she could've been seriously injured," Charlie frowned, at her reckless behavior towards herself.

**The doctor's cool fingers probed lightly along my skull. He noticed when I winced.**

"**Tender?" he asked.**

"**Not really." I'd had worse.**

"Well, that's true," Renee sighed, thinking back on all of those times in Phoenix, when she'd been called to the hospital.

After a while she had stopped worrying herself to death, as it had become a strange routine.

**I heard a chuckle, and looked over to see Edward's patronizing smile. My eyes narrowed.**

"**Well, your father is in the waiting room – you can go home with him now. But come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all."**

"**Can't I go back to school?" I asked, imagining Charlie trying to be attentive.**

"Humph," was the only noise the man in question let out.

Renee hid her smile behind her hand.

Leah only silently thought how true that statement was. After all, she would know. Charlie had always been like a second dad to her, growing up.

"**Maybe you should take it easy today."**

**I glanced at Edward. "Does_ he_ get to go to school?"**

"**Someone has to spread the good news that we survived," Edward said smugly.**

"**Actually," Dr. Cullen corrected, "most of the school seems to be in the waiting room."**

"She's not going to like that," Renee chuckled, joined quickly by her ex-husband.

"**Oh no," I moaned, covering my face with my hands.**

**Dr. Cullen raised his eyebrows. "Do you want to stay?"**

"Hell no," Charlie guffawed, at the thought of how much his daughter truly despised hospitals.

"**No, no!" I insisted, throwing my legs over the side of the bed and hopping down quickly. Too quickly – I staggered, and Dr. Cullen caught me. He looked concerned.**

"Oh, that has nothing to do with her head injury, I'm sure," Charlie smiled and looked at his knowing ex.

Leah couldn't help but feel that this girl, who she had never taken the time to get to know, appeared to be very interesting. A thought she saved for later.

"**I'm fine," I assured him again. No need to tell him my balance problems had nothing to do with hitting my head.**

"**Take some Tylenol for the pain," he suggested as he steadied me.**

"**It doesn't hurt that bad," I insisted.**

"**It sounds like you were extremely lucky," Dr. Cullen said, smiling as he signed my chart with a flourish.**

"**Lucky Edward happened to be standing next to me," I amended with a hard glance at the subject of my statement.**

"**Oh, well, yes," Dr. Cullen agreed, suddenly occupied with the papers in front of him. Then he looked away, at Tyler, and walked to the next bed. My intuition flickered; the doctor was in on it.**

"She's a bit paranoid, isn't she?" The ever-ignorant Renee commented, not looking up and so missed the dubious glances going on between Charlie and Leah.

The two who had grown up on the same, legendary tales.

To them, nothing about Bella's statement was paranoia. They, too, found it very suspicious and very, very telling. If only they could get to the part, where they're actually told.

"**I'm afraid that _you'll_ have to stay with us just a little bit longer," he said to Tyler, and began checking his cuts.**

**As soon as the doctor's back was turned, I moved to Edward's side.**

"**Can I talk to you for a minute?" I hissed under my breath. He took a step back from me, his jaw suddenly clenched.**

"**Your father is waiting for you," he said through his teeth.**

**I glanced at Dr. Cullen and Tyler.**

"**I'd like to speak with you alone, if you don't mind," I pressed.**

**He glared, and then turned his back and strode down the long room. I nearly had to run to keep up. As soon as we turned the corner into the short hallway, he spun around to face me.**

"**What do you want?" he asked, sounding annoyed. His eyes were cold.**

"And now he's back to that," Charlie sighed, no longer having the energy to be angry. He had a feeling, unfortunately, that the boy had very valid reasons for his behavior.

He just wasn't sure he wanted to know what they were.

**His unfriendliness intimidated me. My words came out with less severity than I'd intended. "You owe me an explanation," I reminded him.**

"**I saved your life – I don't owe you anything."**

**I flinched back from the resentment in his voice. "You promised."**

"**Bella, you hit your head, you don't know what you're talking about." His tone was cutting.**

**My temper flared now, and I glared defiantly at him. "There's nothing wrong with my head."**

**He glared back. "What do you want from me, Bella?"**

"**I want to know the truth," I said. "I want to know why I'm lying for you."**

"That is a very good point," Renee said, understanding her daughter's frustration only too well.

The other two silently agreed. This was getting ridiculous.

Just spit it out already!

"**What do you _think_ happened?" he snapped.**

**It came out in a rush. "All I know is that you weren't anywhere near me – Tyler didn't see you, either, so don't tell me I hit my head too hard. That van was going to crush us both – and it didn't, and your hands left dents in the sides of it – and you left a dent in the other car, and you're not hurt at all – and the van should have smashed my legs, but you were holding it up..." I could hear how crazy it sounded, and I couldn't continue. I was so mad I could feel the tears coming; I tried to force them back by grinding my teeth together. He was staring at me incredulously. But his face was tense, defensive.**

"Because everything she saw was what really happened," Leah stated, in a shot of epiphany. In the back of her mind, she heard Billy Black's voice, telling the stories of the Quileutes. A shiver ran down her spine.

Renee decided to keep her thoughts to herself, but she did wonder how Leah, and obviously Charlie, could possibly believe such a thing. Perhaps it was Charlie's side that had made her daughter insane, when it came to Edward?

"**You think I lifted a van off you?" His tone questioned my sanity, but it only made me more suspicious. It was like a perfectly delivered line by a skilled actor.**

**I merely nodded once, jaw tight.**

"**Nobody will believe that, you know." His voice held an edge of derision now.**

"**I'm not going to tell anybody." I said each word slowly, carefully controlling my anger.**

**Surprise flitted across his face. "Then why does it matter?"**

"**It matters to me," I insisted. "I don't like to lie – so there'd better be a good reason why I'm doing it."**

"I have to agree with her on that one," Leah commented, though she couldn't find it in her to hate the Cold One, which she was now sure was what he was. Without a doubt.

Renee was the one who responded. "Yes, it does seem presumptuous of him, to think that she'll simply do what he says, because he's the one asking her. He can't blame her for having questions." She agreed, while Charlie just stayed silent.

"**Can't you just thank me and get over it?"**

"**Thank you." I waited, fuming and expectant.**

"Something tells me she won't be getting over it," Leah chuckled, realizing Bella's annoyed gesture for what it really was.

"**You're not going to let it go, are you?"**

"Not a chance," Charlie said, returning to his anger at Edward, now that the danger had passed and he was acting stupid again.

"**No."**

"**In that case... I hope you enjoy disappointment."**

"If he really doesn't want her to know his secret, he shouldn't talk like that." Renee said, knowing that if her daughter was determined enough to figure it out, then she would. And in little time, too. Bella was too smart for her own good sometimes.

**We scowled at each other in silence. I was the first to speak, trying to keep myself focused. I was in danger of being distracted by his livid, glorious face. It was like trying to stare down a destroying angel.**

Charlie rolled his eyes and mentally wondered how much worse comments like that would become, once the two started dating. He wished his daughter didn't have to be so damn literal, it was a father's worst nightmare, hearing of such details.

Leah and Renee shared an amused glance, both guessing exactly where his thoughts had gone.

"**Why did you even bother?" I asked frigidly.**

**He paused, and for a brief moment his stunning face was unexpectedly vulnerable.**

"**I don't know," he whispered.**

Before the parents could freak out, Leah looked up and cut off whatever they were about to say. "Trust me, that was not him admitting to regretting saving her. Think about it; he just risked this huge secret that his family has kept for a reason and thanks to one moment in time, everything could be destroyed." She had no idea why she was protecting a Cold One, but something told her that the Legends had been exaggerated, at least when it came to the Cullen coven.

Charlie wasn't willing to admit that she was right, so he just kept quiet, but Renee replied a few minutes later. "I think you're right, Leah. Besides, I really doubt that someone who saves a stranger on instinct, could be the kind to regret it later. All life is precious," she said, lost in thought suddenly.

Leah nodded with a small smile, finally realizing what her mother meant, when she said that people underestimated Renee Dwyer. She was much smarter and perceptive than you'd think, at first.

**And then he turned his back on me and walked away.**

**I was so angry, it took me a few minutes until I could move. When I could walk, I made my way slowly to the exit at the end of the hallway. The waiting room was more unpleasant than I'd feared. It seemed like every face I knew in Forks was there, staring at me. Charlie rushed to my side; I put up my hands.**

"**There's nothing wrong with me," I assured him sullenly. I was still aggravated, not in the mood for chitchat.**

"**What did the doctor say?"**

"**Dr. Cullen saw me, and he said I was fine and I could go home." I sighed. Mike and Jessica and Eric were all there, beginning to converge on us. "Let's go," I urged.**

"Wow, she really dislikes a spotlight, even from her friends," Leah laughed, wondering when she would stop being surprised by this girl.

Charlie didn't say anything, but was wondering how much they could really be called friends. The ones mentioned before had certainly given up on Bella quickly. Angela was the only one who still called every once in a while, worried for his daughter.

**Charlie put one arm behind my back, not quite touching me, and led me to the glass doors of the exit. I waved sheepishly at my friends, hoping to convey that they didn't need to worry anymore. It was a huge relief – the first time I'd ever felt that way – to get into the cruiser.**

Charlie rolled his eyes and ignored Renee's slight giggle. He would never understand the obsession with teenagers and their dislike for police cars. Even someone like Bella, who had never deserved the backseat.

**We drove in silence. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I barely knew Charlie was there.**

"Thanks," he huffed, only partly serious.

**I was positive that Edward's defensive behavior in the hall was a confirmation of the bizarre things I still could hardly believe I'd witnessed.**

**When we got to the house, Charlie finally spoke.**

"**Um... you'll need to call Renee." He hung his head, guilty.**

Leah lifted an eyebrow in question.

"You'll see," Charlie snorted, purposely ignoring the wondering eyes of his ex.

**I was appalled. "You told Mom!"**

"**Sorry."**

"What?" The woman in question almost shouted. "Why wouldn't you call me? I'm her mother." She said, a slightly sad tone, wondering why her daughter wouldn't want her to know when she got hurt.

**I slammed the cruiser's door a little harder than necessary on my way out.**

**My mom was in hysterics, of course. I had to tell her I felt fine at least thirty times before she would calm down. She begged me to come home – forgetting the fact that home was empty at the moment – but her pleas were easier to resist than I would have thought.**

Once again, Renee was reminded of her own shortcomings, as a mother. She remembered that phone call and realized now, that instead of the mother comforting the frightened child, it had been the other way around. Where had she gone wrong?

**I was consumed by the mystery Edward presented. And more than a little obsessed by Edward himself. Stupid, stupid, stupid.**

Leah rolled her eyes, which was a big thing for her, as she was almost completely positive, by now, that the Legends were pure truth. Something told her, though, that the Cullen boy and his family really were as different as the stories said. But that it was more than just their diet and way of life.

Charlie thought of what Bella was like at the moment and agreed with his daughter. It was stupid to feel that way, considering the state those emotions left her in.

**I wasn't as eager to escape Forks as I should be, as any normal, sane person would be.**

"Now, what's that supposed to mean?" Charlie said, his eyes narrowing. He was perfectly sane, thank you very much.

Renee swallowed her chuckle, knowing exactly where her daughter was coming from. After all, there was a reason she had left town in such a hurry, all those years ago.

**I decided I might as well go to bed early that night. Charlie continued to watch me anxiously, and it was getting on my nerves.**

"I'm sorry for caring," he harrumphed, crossing his arms over his chest.

The women hid a smile at his behavior, as Leah returned to the book.

**I stopped on my way to grab three Tylenol from the bathroom. They did help, and, as the pain eased, I drifted to sleep.**

**That was the first night I dreamed of Edward Cullen.**

"And that's that." Leah said, closing the book and laying it on the table.

"Well, that was certainly an interesting one," Renee remarked. While she still wasn't anywhere near ready to admit to the odd things her daughter had picked up on, she couldn't keep completely to the ignorant state of mind, either.

Charlie was still stuck on the last line, praying that the next chapter wouldn't go into too much detail.

And then they heard the door open with a squeak, as the girl in question came home from school.

* * *

**Authors Note:** There you have it, the long-awaited fourth chapter and the answer to who the mystery visitor(s) was. Hope it seemed believable and to that end, let me explain something. Notice Sue's comment of hearing about Charlie taking some vacation time. He didn't do this in the books, so she never approach him and ended up canceling the appointment with the doc in Florida. Meaning that there might still be hope left for Harry :P

Hope you liked it and remember to review, it makes writing the rest so much easier for me xD


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